The Iwatani family
by ContriversalNews
Summary: Naofumi Iwatani got transported to another world where he is hated and despised by most people just because he became "the shield hero". His parents, however, want to find their son again and start looking for him. Little did he know that his parents Kazuma and Megumin would do exactly that and join his party. This story will explore the adventures they have together. Dark humor.
1. The Son

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 1: The son

**When Kazuma had finally completed his mission to defeat the demon king, his wish was for him and Megumin to be able to live a upper middle class life together back in Japan. Eris granted his wish, and all of Kazuma's assets in Axel was converted to equally valuable assets in terms of Japan's standards. Megumin was easily able to get herself a job as an actress, given her energetic and ability to fully get into character. Kazuma was able to work from home inventing new toys and games that depicted his adventures in the other world. He had to change his last name to Iwatani to avoid his old family to find out about him however. Back in the other world she and Kazuma had done the deed, so when they was transferred to Japan, she was already in her third trimester. She gave birth to a baby boy with that got most of his father's complexion, but his hair was as black as his mother's. They named the boy Naofumi. Then 5 years later they got another boy with a lot of his mother's complexion, but still had green eyes and brown hair. One day Naofumi went missing and Kazuma and Megumin was able to track his last appearance to the public library, where also they got transported through the book.**

**1 x gold = 100 x silver**

**1 x silver = 100 x copper**

Naofumi woke up to his normal otaku lifestyle, he was able to live like this ever since he saved his younger brother from becoming a criminal. His father Kazuma had never really nagged him about studying since he saw much of himself in his son, but his mother Megumin was really serious about him not becoming a shut-in neet like his father once was. This mission was successful for Megumin, since he went training most days, and had a habit of going to the public library.

It was going to be a normal day at the library, but he just got more immersed in the book that he had planned, and soon after his parents followed. Luckily his younger brother was currently studying abroad so he was none the wiser about the disappearance of his brother and parents. We start the story after Naofumi's name has been dragged through the mud and his parents has discovered that they retain their stats from their Konosuba days.

"Kazuma where are we?" Megumin said in confusion

"I think our son has been isekaied to this world after he opened that book, then when we found the book we followed after him." Kazuma retorted with in complete confidence.

"How can you be so sure Kazuma?" she asked still confused

"This is not my first rodeo, remember dear?" he said (Plus I have no better explanation Megumin)

"Hey Megumin look, it is like your adventurer card is already in your head, I am apparently in level 120." Kazuma uttered with great enthusiasm.

"How do you see your {stats}, oh wait now I see them, I am in level 400 like back in Axel Kazuma." she answered

"But let me guess you only have one ability {explosion}, or am I wrong Arch wizard" he said while giving her a stare that said (You know I am right.)

"Of course, there is no greater magic than explosion magic. So why are you looking at me like that is not the greatest asset we have in our party?" she questioned her 40 year old husband.

"Oh, I know that you can probably eradicate a whole city with that one spell, but can you walk afterwards?" he asked with a smug smile on his face

"Only one way to find out {EXPLOSION}!" She suddenly said, causing a massive explosion to appear from nowhere and send small tremors through the air. This was however nothing to Kazuma as he was more used to nuke level-explosions from his wife, rather than this weak city block level-explosion.

"50-points Megumin, you are out of training, but hey one thing has at least not changed, so how is the ground tasting." He said while looking at his 37 year old wife laying face first on the ground.

"Don't mock me, it is over 20 years since I got to use my explosion magic" she turned her head and looked back at Kazuma

This only made him start laughing uncontrollably "hahaha HAHAHA OH MY HAHAHAHAHA" "HAHA, oh this reminds of our first quest together".

Kazuma then laid down next to his faceplanting wife and snuggled up to her like they used to. "We haven't snuggled like this since you started got that new role, it is nice" he said as he sunk his face into her raven black hair.

"This is nice and all Kazuma, but aren't you forgetting about something important?"

"Oh well, he is 20 he can take care of himself" he said with confidence.

"I am not as sure, my motherly instincts are telling me that our son is being mistreated. Carry me to the closest town husband we need to find an inn before it gets dark, and then continue our search for Naofumi."

"We don't exactly have any money Megu-chan, so we kind of have to find a way to earn them, or else we might have to sleep in a stable." Kazuma said as he lifted Megumin on his back like old times. This time he also gave her thighs a loving squeeze (there are perks with being married after all) he thought to himself.

"Well can't we just kill some beasts and sell their hide or something like we used to do?" she asked him

Just as she said that Kazuma's ability {Enemy detection} started pinging like crazy. "Why do you have to raise those kind of flags" he said as he turned on his ability {lurk} to hide him and Megumin from the approaching monsters.

(We don't have any weapons yet, so it would be stupid to enter battles with monsters which strengths are to us unknow) as Kazuma was thinking this an orange balloon with teeth jumped out of the tall grass, and bounced into him and popped on impact with his moving knee. This made Kazuma gain 5 EXP.

"On second thought I think these ones are going to be a piece of cake to handle" he deactivated lurk as he said that and put Megumin gently on the ground. "Hey dodgeballs come and get me!" he yelled catching the attention of 40 orange balloon like animals.

They all jumped at Kazuma trying to get a bite of him, but he was much faster than them and barely needed to touch them to pop them. If he only knew how much time his son has spent on popping just one of those. Then after popping 41 balloon monster, collecting their skins and gaining 205 EXP, he picked up Megumin again and started walking the path towards the city.

"That was fun, Megumin when we get to town I want you to try and sell these balloon hides." He said in a cheerful tone while walking towards the closest town.

"Why should I try to sell them, aren't you the businessman in the family?" she asked

"Well I have a feeling you might have an easier time convincing them of a better price than me. You got a womanly charm that is not easy to copy, so I think you will catch the merchants eye and he will wish to endear himself to you by giving you a better deal." Kazuma proudly told her while grinning.

"Ah, That is the Kazuma I know and love full of contradictions. You tell me I am beautiful, but then you want to use that beauty to trick other men, even though you would never let a man take me from your side." She said to him as she sunk her face into neck.

"We need to use the assets we have available there is no need to"

Megumin had taken good care of her body after becoming an actress, so she could still be mistaken as somewhere around 20 years old. Today she had been wearing her casual red and black jacket, with her white sweater underneath, she also wore black stocking that reached up to her thighs and a pair of knee high black boots. She was simply stunning.

Kazuma on the other hand had just grown a little rougher in his features (imagine an older Naofumi with brown hair), while readopting his old green tracksuit. Many had mistaken him and his son back in Japan since they had the same facial complexion. You could only tell them apart by either the different hair color or the few wrinkles Kazuma had developed.

When they arrived in town Kazuma used {Drain touch} to give Megumin some strength back so she could walk on her own. After a little while they found a place to sell their loot. Kazuma then handed over 40 of the hides to Megumin and activated {Lurk}, this was to stay behind and watch over her in case she got in to trouble but also so he wouldn't destroy the illusion of Megumin being by herself.

"Good luck Megu-chan" he said as he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, then he disappeared from her view.

"_Thanks darling_" she whispered to herself as Kazuma disappeared, but she knew he was still watching over her.

She then went over to the vendor and presented him with the 40 orange balloon hides, as she put on her best smile. "So how much would I get for these, good sir?"

The vendor just stood there stunned by her beauty for, not being able to even respond for a second. He then looked down on the 40 orange balloon hides which he usually sells for 1 silver per hide and pays half that to acquire, but most people that comes to him are inexperienced when it comes to haggling so he gets them for much less most of the time.

(No, I don't want to trick this beautiful woman. If she finds out I scammed her she might never return to my shop. If I overpay her now however she will return to my shop all the time. Also if I show her that I am a man that well off then maybe she will marry me) the vendor frantically thought to himself.

(Just like I planned he is totally stunned by Megumin, this will be easier than I thought.) Kazuma thought as he observed them from his hiding spot.

"Hello! Sir are you listening to me, how much can you give me for these" Megumin said as she waved her hand in front of him to regain the vendor's attention.

"Ah eh, yes s-sorry about that, well I have been in great need of these lately, so to show you my gratitude for bringing these to me I will give you 5 gold pieces" the vendor lied to Megumin. He had bought plenty of these orange balloon hides of the so called "shield-hero" after being chomped on the orange balloon monster for a few seconds.

"Hmm, well I had another buyer offering me 8 gold pieces, so I will just go back to him then" she lied with complete confidence.

This caused the vendor to panic he just had to have her come back to his shop. He was sure that the other seller must have been stricken by her beauty just like him. (I will not lose to some 2nd rate merchant, I will win) he thought as he slammed his fist into the table. "No! I can increase my price to 10 gold pieces, so please sell them to me."

This startled Megumin a little since the vendor had previously been so calm, but now that façade was gone. Kazuma that was in his hiding spot also got into position to intercept any attacks or inappropriate advances the vendor might do towards his wife.

"I-I am sorry that was unbecoming of me, I hope you can forget about that little outburst of mine" the vendor apologized.

"Of course I will forgive you, if you give me 20 gold pieces for my products" Megumin said with her best smile, and her eyes shining a little bit.

The vendor quickly went through his bank and hurriedly put the 20 gold coins in a little pouch "HERE! Take it, consider the 10 extra gold coins as an apology for my behavior" he bowed down while handing her the money pouch.

Megumin accepted the money pouch and went on her way. When she turned around the corner Kazuma popped out of his hiding spot and embraced her. In return Megumin kissed him.

"mmmnnhh"

Kazuma went deeper into the kiss and tightening the embrace around his wife, in return Megumin started wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled herself off the ground by his neck and then wrapped her legs around his hips. Kazuma let his right hand explore down her body until it rested upon her ass cheek, while his left hand went up to her head and stroked her hair. Then they broke the kiss still tightly embracing each other and leaning their foreheads against each other while panting.

"hah, hah, it has really been awhile hasn't it" Kazuma panted while reveling in his wife's embrace

"too long, waaay too long darling" Megumin said in a dreaming tone burying her face into Kazuma's neck taking in his smell.

"I got to see what is the true value of these are, because I am pretty sure you got a better deal than what other people will get" Kazuma said as he pulled out the last orange balloon hide.

When Kazuma went up to the vendor he didn't get time to ask for anything because the vendor closed his store the moment he made eye contact with Kazuma, mistaking him for his son Naofumi. Kazuma didn't know this of course and just stood there confused. He just went back to Megumin very confused.

"Did I scare him or something?" he asked Megumin

"Sure looked like it."

"Well, let us go find a place that sells weapons and armor I feel kind of naked here without a sword."

"I agree with you Kazuma, I want to get a staff"

Megumin grabbed onto Kazuma's arm as they started walking towards the weapons shop. In the past such a move would have embarrassed him, but now he just felt comforted by it. When they came into the weapons shop no one was there, but some work could be heard going on in the back. They went up to the counter.

"Hello is there anyone here" Megumin spoke up.

They could hear the work going on in the background abruptly stopping and a burly man appeared. His appearance was rather burly, with some scars on his face, totally bald head with a full goatee beard. He was wearing a white t-shirt underneath a brown leather apron. He was wearing a pair of thick leather gloves and boots.

"Well you don't stop bringing beautiful women in here do you Shield Hero" Erhard the blacksmith said only paying attention to the body frame of Kazuma, more focused on the beauty next to him.

"So tell me Naofumi what are you looking for today, and where are your slaves? More importantly who is this beauty and why did you bring her in here" Erhard questioned the couple.

"Ah, now I understand. You have met our son, that much I am certain of now." Kazuma as he understood what was going on.

"Wait, what you are not Naofumi" Erhard looked closer at Kazuma recognizing the brown hair and aged face. "You are indeed not, but how did you get to this world? Naofumi was summoned, but how did you get here?" he asked very confused over how this was even possible.

"Well, when parents search for their children they will stop at nothing to find them again! We put in all our resources and powers together in the effort to find him again, which lead us to this world." Megumin said in an overdramatic tone.

(She is not totally lying, but hey we didn't use our powers to get here, I still can't explain how we got here.) Kazuma thought to himself while looking at his wife

"I see, but you must be really powerful and adapt at magic if you can manage to track your son to another world and then follow after him." Erhard said totally in awe of this couple's achievement.

"So I take it my son comes here often since you are on first name basis with him. So where could we find him?" Kazuma said directing his attention at Erhard.

"Well he has gotten a raccoon girl slave and a filolial girl slave, I can tell you that much. They travel too much so usually I wouldn't be able to tell you where they are, but luckily for you two he is coming to pick up this sword for his raccoon girl." Erhard told them.

"Then we will wait here until he arrives" Megumin stated like there was no room for discussion as she sat down on a chair by the counter.

**Well I will continue this story some other time. This is my first story so please give me some critical reviews so I may improve in the future. Happy new years and I hope you are ready for a new decade. **


	2. The Reunion

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 2: Reunion

**So you guys might be wondering how is Naofumi's life in this world right now, well to put it simply it is mostly shit. The only good points of his life right now is Raphtalia, Filo and Erhard believing him to be innocent of the rape allegations, and supporting him. Naofumi has realized the true position that Melty holds and shunned her, because of his already bad experience with royalty. Currently, he is at the hourglass ready to upgrade Raphtalia's and Filo's class. He is however not allowed to use it by decree of Tra… I mean by decree of the king. The last thing he was going to do today was going to Erhard's store and pick up some supplies, but this is also foiled by the stupid spear hero.**

"Stop right there Shield hero!" Motoyasu yelled at him followed by ten guards, his party and Bitc… I mean Whor… sorry, the notes are getting mixed here, I mean Malty.

"What is it now Motoyasu, I am in a hurry so be quick," Naofumi said with a tired look on his face.

"Don't play dumb with me Naofumi, they say that you have been seen forcing yourself on a beautiful woman in an alley. So we have come here to arrest you before you can hurt any more innocent women."

In reality that was just Kazuma and Megumin making out, sorry Naofumi.

"That cannot be true, because Master Naofumi has been with me and Filo all this time, and we just came from the hourglass," Raphtalia explained.

"Yeah! We have been at the hourglass for a few hours now to upgrade our classes, just to be refused by the king." Filo confirmed in her Filolial form.

"See! That story is clearly fabricated or wasn't me. SO LET ME PASS NOW!" Naofumi yelled at the people blocking his path. (How many times must this bitch make my life harder, can't she just ignore me.)

"Hmm, no. You will still have to come with us to confirm your story with the nuns at the hourglass." The stupid spear hero still insisted.

"FINE! Let us go back immediately then and after that, you will leave me alone" Naofumi said as he turned the carriage around and started traveling back to the hourglass.

So when they arrived back at the hourglass Naofumi made a smart move and made Motoyasu leave all his party members outside the building. He also took the initiative for questioning the nuns, as they didn't understand that lying about his whereabouts would mean trouble for him.

"Have I been here for the last few hours?" Naofumi asked the nun simply without telling her why he asked that question.

"Yes" she answered

"Ok, it seems you were telling the truth, after all, I guess you can be on your way." The stupid spear hero said still not completely convinced about Naofumi's innocence.

As Naofumi was about to leave the spear hero behind, he turned around and looked back at the spear hero before he said.

"You know Motoyasu, my father always told me to treat both women and men equally, I never understood why he was so insistent on that before I came to this world."

"Are you saying your father was a feminist, and why are you bringing that up?"

"No. My father wasn't a feminist, he is closer to something you can call an equalist, and I am bringing this up because in this world women are taken at their word, especially by you. If you were to question a normal person's statement about me then you should question your party members the same, even if you are fucking them." Naofumi explained to his stupid rival.

"Pfft, I am a good judge of character so there is no need to question my trustworthy party members the same as strangers, especially when it comes to a rapist like you."

(That statement just proves you are a terrible judge of character and how much Malty has manipulated you.) "sigh, you are hopeless," Naofumi said exhausted as he turned around and left.

He got back on his carriage and started to leave for Erhard's weapons shop, but was again stopped by a group consisting of three men in armor and two mages.

"What do you want!" Naofumi yelled at the group, startling them.

Then one of the men in armor spoke up "Shield hero, we are knights that fought with you in Lute village. We were deeply touched by your resolve to protect the village and our families when no one else would, SO WE WOULD LIKE TO JOIN YOUR PARTY!" this knight was very convincing, but he wanted to test them first.

He pulled out a little metal trinket "Buy this off me for 150 silver pieces and I will consider your request." He said with a monotone voice.

"WHAT! 150 silver pieces we don't have that much." The knight spoke up

"First when you buy this off me I will consider your offer, so you better collect the 150 silver pieces. If you can't do that don't talk to me again." Naofumi retorted in a strict tone to the group.

"Hmm, I am sure we can arrange something even if it is a lot of money he is asking for, but it will take some time." One of the mages said to the group.

"The next wave comes in 10 days so you better be quick about it or you will be left behind." Naofumi said as he gave the signal for Filo to start dragging the carriage.

**/Meanwhile in Erhard's shop 30min before Naofumi arrives**

Kazuma had equipped himself with some light armor underneath and had been able to obtain a green mantle with golden borders similar to the one he had back in his old adventurer day. However on the insistence of his wife he had gotten a red "MK" stamped onto his mantle.

His new weapon of choice was a sword that Erhard had given him, Erhard has said: "If Naofumi could wield a sword I would have given this to him, but since his shield rejects anything else than a shield that is not possible, but I think it will serve you well Kazuma." The sword was a black one-handed sword with one serrated side meant for sawing in wood and trees, while the other side was razor-sharp. The handle was 10cm long and the blade itself was 68cm long. It was a perfect fit for Kazuma.

Megumin had obtained herself a little mage hat, which she had spent the whole night decorating to look as much like her old hat as possible, but she added a green "MK" on it. She felt comfortable to travel around in her current set of clothes, but she obtained a second set of clothes for herself and 3 for Kazuma. She was quite tired of seeing him walk around in that stupid green tracksuit all the time.

Erhard did also gift her a staff he had spent a year perfecting as his own little hobby, it was a totally black staff, it was so black it looked like it absorbed the light around it. "The staff looks like it sucks up light, but in reality, it only sucks up mana from the air, which is transferred to the user" had Erhard explained.

Erhard had demanded pay for Kazuma's equipment which was around 250 silver pieces, but not from Megumin. Kazuma did, however, insist on giving him 3 gold pieces for his hospitality and for not screwing them over. Erhard also took the courtesy of learning them how items were appraised and what the exchange of currency was. He still, however, didn't tell them about the harsh treatment their son had been subject to over this last month, thinking that it was better for Naofumi to tell them.

Kazuma suddenly rose up from his chair and picked up his sword and went to the door. "Hey, I will go and buy some food, be back in around 20min," Kazuma said and left.

Erhard curious about the level of Naofumi's parents went to check Megumin's level. This ended up shocking him when he saw that her level was 400. He himself was only level 86, and Naofumi's party were all stuck at level 40.

"S-so Megumin, how are you such a high level, when your son was level 1 when he first arrived in this world? Why did you not train him?" Erhard asked very curious about this very powerful mage.

"Well, you see it is a little hard to explain it, hell I didn't believe it at first either when Kazuma told me, so I don't think you will believe it." Megumin tried to excuse herself from explaining her backstory fearing he wouldn't believe her.

"I have a sense of telling if people tell the truth or not so just try your best to explain and I will listen." Erhard said reassuringly.

"Well in that case, please ask your question again!" Megumin exclaimed with more confidence

"How did you get to such a high level?" he asked

"Well back when I, Kazuma, Aqua and Darkness were adventurers in the same party, I would end up landing the finishing blow on most enemies that we faced, thereby gaining the most EXP." She answered.

"Hmm, ok then over to my next question. Why didn't you train your son so he could gain any EXP and level up why did he come to this world in level 1?"

"After we Kazuma had defeated the Demon king in my world he was granted one wish from the goddess Eris, and he wished for a peaceful and safe environment to raise a family with me back in his old world in a country named Japan. Where there hasn't been a war going on for over 80 years now. In this world, there are also no monsters to fight, so you can't gain any EXP thereby you can't level up. The tradeoff was of course that we could safely raise our children."

"WHAT! Kazuma has defeated a demon king?" he asked in shock.

"Yes, but our old adventurer party did defeat many powerful enemies prior to defeating the demon king. Our party defeated all the demon king's general together and many high bounty targets. Kazuma died a few times on the way, but Aqua was always able to resurrect him. That was the main reason why he didn't want to live in my old world anymore when Aqua couldn't accompany us any longer." She said with a nostalgic look on her face.

"OK, so you have lived a very eventful life together by the sounds of it. Well, that is all I wanted to know, I will not dig anymore. Would you like some tea Megumin?"

"Yes, that would be nice, Erhard." She said with a sweet smile.

Erhard then got up and went over to his teapot to start cooking some tea.

/meanwhile with Kazuma

Kazuma took out his money pouch and looked over how much he had with him.

(Ok so I have spent 3 gold pieces on our equipment, then I exchanged 3 gold pieces to 300 silver pieces with Erhard. Then I left Megumin with 100 silver pieces and 14 gold pieces, so I have 200 silver pieces to shop groceries for. This should be more than enough) he thought as he shook his pouch around and heard the money rustling.

Then Kazuma went down an alleyway he shouldn't have. Three guys jumped out in front of him blocking his path, while 2 other big men blocked the way he came from. Kazuma wasn't very scared of robbers, since the last time someone had tried to rob him, they had run away screaming. Granted they ran away screaming because of Darkness' perverted antics, but they ran away screaming nonetheless.

"Let me just say that trying to rob me will not end very well for you," Kazuma spoke up sounding almost bored.

"We are not here to rob you Shield hero, we are here to kill you." one of the men said.

(Ah, yes even these people mistake me for my son.) "Well, you are going to need more than 13 people to do so." Kazuma used {Enemy detection} to see all the individuals with killing intent directed at him.

"W-what how did you… I mean what do you mean there are only 5 people here, but we will still be able to kill you." The man spoke up again.

"Oh please, there are 2 people on the roof ready with their bows, 3 people inside that building ready to burst out, and 3 people ready to burst out of this manhole cover." Kazuma said the last part as he slammed his foot down on it incapacitating one of the assassins that leaned his head on it.

"B-but how do you know that we spent days planning this ambush." The same man spoke again.

"It doesn't matter what he knows, he still can't take on 13 assassins in level 60 alone all at once." Another man spoke up

"ATTACK!". The group yelled in unison

In the one-second, no one was looking at Kazuma he had activated his skills. First, {Concealment} to go invisible for a short amount of time and then stacked it with {Lurk} and started sneaking past the 3 guys blocking his path, as the 2 big guys behind him took up too much space to sneak past. This shocked all the assassins when the man who had once stood right in front of them just vanished into thin air.

"Where did he go?" one man bursting out of the house asked

"What, I saw him standing right there?" another man said poking at the manhole cover.

(Idiots, if you are going to kill someone just do it, don't wait for a grand reveal to intimidate your target. Worst assassins ever.) Kazuma thought as he got up on the roof behind the two now very confused archers. "He j-just disappeared". "Where could he be?" (Right behind you.) Kazuma thought to himself making sure to not do the same mistake as his attackers.

Kazuma drew his sword and swung it with ease, one slash later and both their heads came off. He took great care in not making anything fall off the roof as to alert the people below to his position. He then picked up one of the bows and some arrows and started to shoot at his confused attackers. "{Snipe} x 10." All the arrows flew with amazing accuracy because of his high luck stat, killing his targets instantly, not even giving the assassins time to react.

(Well, that was easy.) Kazuma thought as he got down to the ground again, with his now newly acquired bow.

Of course, it was easy for him at level 120. The level gap could be compared to 13 ants trying to lift a boulder. Even if he was only level 70 it would still be hard for them to win, they gave away their element of surprise.

First, he went down in the now open manhole cover and fished up the last although unconscious, last living assassin. After ransacking the man, he tied him up and started looting all the other deceased assassins. He got 5 x smoke bombs, 3 x vials of purple liquid, some money, 4 x berries, and 30 x arrows.

(They didn't have any food other than these berries, but considering these are assassins I shouldn't try them on the off chance they are poisonous.) Kazuma thought after his short murder spree in "Self-defense".

He then started to try and wake up his new prisoner. First, he tried simply splashing his face with water, which only proved effective in making the guy pee himself. Then Kazuma tried using {Freeze} on the man's neck, this only caused him to slightly shiver. Kazuma then thought of the most effective way to wake up a man in deep slumber.

Kazuma pulled out his sword and aimed it up with the man's crotch. (I am so sorry for what I am about to do sir, but I do not have freshly baked pancakes nearby so this is my only option.) Kazuma thought as he prepared himself for what he was about to do. Kazuma took in a deep breath as he drew his sword back for then to plunge the sword in the man's private parts, this proved very effective at waking the man up.

"AAAA, FUCK, SHIT, AAAA, HEYP EEE HEEYP EEE-." The man screamed as someone has just stabbed him in the di… oh yeah.

Kazuma smacked the man to shut him up, this proved surprisingly effective. "SHUT UP! I have some questions for you, if you answer truthfully I will make sure you don't lose your son." He said as he pointed at the man's nether region.

"If you don't want to answer any questions, you can join your comrades." Kazuma said as he gestured to the bodies strewn around. "So what do you chose?" Kazuma asked in a scary tone.

"I-I-I c-choose t-to ah-answer." He was able to utter while under a lot of pain.

"Ok, why did you guys want to kill the shield hero?"

"W-w-we were hah-hired to ki-kill hi-him" the assassin said while starting to shed some tears from all the pain.

"Who hired you?" Kazuma asked in an angry tone. (No one harms my family and gets away with it)

"Someone fr-fro-from the chu-church of the three heroes" man said now gaining more control over his words as he got more accustomed to the pain.

"Well, could you recognize this person if you saw them again?" Kazuma asked as he looked at his prisoner with part pity and part hate.

"Not on their face, but I can definitely recognize their voice." The man said without any sign of a lie.

"In that case I will hold up my end of the bargain" Kazuma said as he picked up the guy and started running back to the weapons shop.

"Ouch, this HUrts you know" the man complained.

"Says the man who tried to kill me." Kazuma retorted without showing a shred of compassion.

"Fair enOOUGH" he yelped out.

**/Meanwhile in Naofumi's carriage**

"Remember we are going to pick up the supplies from Erhard and then go train, and only after that are we going to eat." Naofumi told the girls.

"Understood master Naofumi" both girls retorted without a second of hesitation.

When they could see Erhard's weapons shop, Naofumi took notice in a man carrying another tied up man into the shop. Naofumi got a little on guard, but didn't tell the girls what he saw until he could see the trail of blood that the 2 men had left behind them.

"Girls I just a tied up man being carried into Erhard's shop, and as you can see one of them was clearly hurt. Get ready for a battle we might have to handle some bad people."

They both nodded at Naofumi and went to into battle stances. Raphtalia drew her sword, while Filo transformed into her girl form to get the reigns off her, then back again to her Filolial form. Naofumi took the front ready to open the door, or bust it in if need be. He then opened the door slightly and started hearing voices.

"Are you guys going to kill me, you promised to heal me if I told you everything, I SWEAR THAT IS ALL THAT I KNOW, PLEASE PUT DOWN THE KNIFE!" a man cried out desperation.

This was enough for Naofumi to drag the door open as hard as he possibly could. He then ran inside the room with Raphtalia on his right side and Filo on his left. As his eyes took a second to adjust to the light, he could hear the girls gasp in shock. When his eyes finally could take in the details of the room, he saw a tied-up man with blood coming from his crotch. The next thing he saw was Erhard holding a kitchen knife, with a concerned look on his face, but then he saw something that truly shocked him. He saw a man with brown hair, and if it hadn't been for a few wrinkles he could have sworn he was looking himself in the mirror.

"WHAT!?" All three of them exclaimed when they saw Kazuma. Filo and Raphtalia because they thought they saw double, and Naofumi was shocked, because he couldn't believe what he was seeing. They all just stood there dumbfounded before the silence was broken.

"Good you are here son, Erhard told me you are able to cast healing magic. Quickly or else we won't be able to reattach his member." Kazuma said pointing at the tied up man sitting in a puddle of his own blood.

This got Naofumi out of his trance as he looked at the man in obvious pain with a pale face, because of his blood loss. "{First Heal}" he chanted as a green aura enveloped the man. The man regained color to his face and passed out from the relief the healing spell granted him.

"S-S-SON!?" The girls stuttered out in clear confusion.

"What are YOU doing here!? HOW ARE YOU HERE?!" Naofumi exclaimed still shocked by the sight of his father.

Then Naofumi suddenly received a little smack in the back of his head. Not hard enough to do any real damage, but enough to sting a little and grab his attention.

"Really! That is the first thing you say to your loving parents, when you have been gone for over a month. We have been worried about you." Megumin yelled at Naofumi with watery eyes, filled with tears of joy at seeing her son again.

"W-WHAT PARENTS!?" Filo exclaimed.

Filo turned back to her little girl form, as she frantically looked back and forth between her master and the two new people she had never seen before, totally ignoring the bound man sleeping on the floor. (I guess I can see it.) Filo thought to herself, as she rested her gaze at Kazuma.

Raphtalia just stared intently at the woman who had just attacked her master, totally ignoring what she said. She got into battle stance ready to attack. Naofumi saw this and put his hand on her shoulder, "Yield Raphtalia! That is my mother you are pointing your sword at." He commanded her while giving her a stern look.

In return, Raphtalia got really nervous and instantly sheeted her sword as she hid her face in embarrassment. (I must have made a terrible first impression. Does she hate me now? Will master Naofumi leave me behind now?) Raphtalia thought as she looked at a corner in the shop.

Megumin then jumped up on her son and gave him a bear hug. Despite her petite frame, she was very strong. "Hhhey momh youh are crushing me." Naofumi barely managed to utter under the pressure of his mother's hug.

"Why do you and your father have an innate ability to ruin moments," Megumin said in an annoyed tone as she released her son from her death grip, and wiped away her tears.

"Well, are you two done now? We kind of have somewhat of a big conspiracy on our hands." Kazuma gestured at the tied up man sleeping peacefully.

"Case and point" Megumin pointed her new staff at Kazuma as she said it, which made Naofumi give out a little chuckle. Grabbing the attention of both girls in the room.

"Did you just laugh master Naofumi?" Filo asked clearly surprised by seeing her master laugh for the first time.

Naofumi's chuckle brought Raphtalia out of her catastrophe thinking, and she started looking at her master in pure astonishment. "It is the first time I have heard you laugh master Naofumi." She smiled as she said that.

Kazuma took a closer look at his son's face after that statement. The boy had usually always been happy, joyful and trustful, at least the last time he saw him. However, now his son gave off more an aura he recognized far too well. "Yeah, being summoned to another world isn't as fun as most media makes it seem, tell me about what happened son." Kazuma said with a knowing look.

"I don't think you can relate to what I have been through dad," Naofumi said with an exhausted tone remembering all the shit he had been through.

"Pfft, try me, son," Kazuma said confidently

"OK then. When I arrived in this world everyone looked at me like I was inferior to all the other heroes."

"Hmm, so you arrived in a new world, and the people you arrived with were seen as more capable, but they are pretty much useless and you clean up their mess all the time." Kazuma guessed with a lot of confidence in his voice.

"Yes, how did you know that." Naofumi looked at his father in pure shock of his extremely accurate guess.

"Well you are not the first one in the family to travel to a fantasy world," Kazuma said with a smug smile. "But please continue, let us see if there is more I can relate too."

"Well, I got like this after I was betrayed by my so-called party member. At first, she looked like a beautiful woman that really wanted to join my party, but I later came to understand that she is a conniving little bitch. Get this, first, she took all my equipment and armor and then she claims that I raped her, but nobody other than Erhard here believes me to be innocent. So now this whole town hates me"

Tears started to form in Naofumi's eyes as he said it. It was good for him to be able to talk about it, and he felt that if anyone would believe him it would be his parents. This cold front he had been holding up was good to let down when he had his parents there to comfort him. The feeling of being alone had been tough on him

"I can only relate partially to that Naofumi," Kazuma said with a concerned look on his face. "Women have blamed me for sexual harassment, and people disliking me, but I was overall respected in my town. I have had a party member that spent all my money, but Aqua was just mostly useless. She didn't try to make my life harder or make people hate me."

"Wait, who is Aqua?" Naofumi asked in confusion on this new name he had never heard before being mentioned.

"Well to put it simply she is your godmother, she insisted A LOT on that. Just so you know she takes the god part of that title VERY literally." He said trying to make him understand him.

"Wait, I told Darkness she could be his godmother." Megumin suddenly said.

"What was she going to do if we died in Japan?" he asked his wife

"Why would you trust our son with Aqua?" she asked a little worried about her husband's judgment.

"Well, she did show great care for Zell, so I thought she could also take care of our son if need be, plus she can get to him if we died in Japan, on account her being a Goddess."

"Fine, I get it. Now please Naofumi please continue." Megumin said in a defeated tone.

"Yeah, I will continue. So out of all the heroes, the spear hero, named Motoyasu has to be the worst one, he has this hero complex. He is too self-absorbed in his point on how the world works, to even reason with. He is either conspiring with Malty to make my life miserable, or he is too stupid to realize he is being manipulated"

"Hmm, yeah that sounds very familiar to Mitsurugi, let me guess he also challenged you to a duel where the price was one or more of your party members." Kazuma guessed with great accuracy again.

"Yeah, and that bitch princess cheated and made me lose, and then claimed she didn't do anything." He said as he clenched his fist together and got angry from just remembering that incident.

"But luckily the foul play was called out by the sword and bow hero, and then I could return to master's Naofumi's side as his slave," Raphtalia informed them in a cheerful voice.

"I don't like the spear hero, he creeps me out and he called me a fat bird," Filo stated with clear disdain in her voice.

"They keep calling you master Naofumi, and they talk about being your slaves, care to explain that to me Naofumi?" Megumin asked her son with a look that felt like she was trying to stare straight through him.

"Well, after being betrayed and no one wanting to party up with me because of my reputation. I also didn't trust anyone, so if I got a slave I could be certain of them not betraying me. That is why they call me master Naofumi." He explained so everyone could hear. "I love them like my own children" Naofumi whispered so that only Megumin managed to hear him.

(My son is all grown up already, it feels like it was just yesterday he was being an Otaku living at home.) She proudly thought to herself wiping away a few proud tears.

"Ok, now that I have explained my situation, how are you not the least freaked out about getting here. It sounds like this is natural to both of you."

"Well, that is because it is." Both his parents said in unison.

"I am going to give you the speed course here to explain it as quickly as possible. I was once an adventurer like you, until I defeated the demon king and got your mom pregnant. I then wished to be able to raise my family in Japan, and the rest is history."

"Wait what, repeat that demon king part again." Naofumi said not believing his shut-in dad capable of something like that.

"When I was about your age I defeated the demon king, as a reward the goddess of luck Eris granted me one wish. I then used that wish to live a peaceful life back in Japan and raise a family with your mother."

"Why have you guys never told me about this then?" Naofumi asked clearly annoyed that his parents didn't prepare him for something like this when it was a possibility.

"Would you have believed me?" Kazuma asked rhetorically.

There was a moment of silence as Naofumi realized the truth behind his father's words. Of course, he wouldn't have believed him, he would have sounded like a nutcase. Naofumi then gave out a big sigh in response.

"Exactly, good to see that you have more common sense than your mother," Kazuma said with a smug smile.

"Hey, it was a big shift for me to travel to Japan, I didn't know how your world worked. Chomusuke only had to focus on living as a lazy cat while I had to be a mother and an actress." Megumin excused herself with.

"Now that you mention it, mom, how is that cat still alive? Isn't she older than me, don't cats only live 20 years or something close to that?" Naofumi asked now very curious about his parents' past.

"Chomusuke is the goddess of violence and sloth," Megumin said nonchalantly like it was a common fact and not big news at all.

"How many goddesses have you two befriended, and why haven't any of them done anything to help me?" he angrily asked, pissed off that he had been going through so much shit by himself, when gods and goddesses actually existed and they were close family friends.

"Naofumi, you know Chomusuke is back in Japan, probably being lazy, because that is the main source of power she draws from in our home," Kazuma explained

"Well, what about my godmother, Aqua was it?" Naofumi asked still pissed off about not getting any help.

"She mainly focuses on dealing with the dead people coming from Japan, and it is Aqua don't blame her for being as useless as she is." Kazuma chuckled a little as he explained that goddess' incompetence.

"What about this Eris, wasn't she supposed to grant you a peaceful life in Japan with your family, then why did I get transported here and treated like less than shit?" Naofumi yelled as he looked his father straight in the eyes, yearning for an answer.

"Now that right there is a good question. Perhaps the gods deemed my wish fulfilled since both my sons were grown up. But I still feel Eris' blessing of luck around me, so she definitely hasn't abandoned us." He told his son in a reassuring manner.

"hee-hee no, I don't want more cake grandma." Everyone suddenly shifted their gaze towards the tied up sleeping man at the floor talking in his sleep.

"Oh yeah that reminds me, this man is a member of an assassin group that mistook me for you son, they were planning to kill you. They were apparently hired by someone from a Church of some kind."

"Hmm, the only church that I know with any merit in this kingdom is the "Three heroes church" but would they really order such a thing?" Erhard said while stroking his beard.

"Well, this guy told me someone from that church hired him and his group of assassins. They were all close to level 60."

"Wait, dad, you killed 12 assassins in the level 60 range, I am only level 38, while Filo and Raphtalia are stuck at level 40, how high of a level are you?" Naofumi clearly shocked by this revelation asked.

"I am level 120." He bluntly stated like it was no big deal.

"Your mother is level 400 Naofumi, so your father is very weak compared to her, but they are a literal power couple regardless. I am myself only at level 86." Erhard said with clear admiration in his voice.

"L-lev-level 400!" Raphtalia stuttered as she looked on the petite woman with pure veneration.

"Wow," Filo said dreamingly as she walked up to Megumin to take a closer look. "You look so cool."

"Heh, of course, I am the crimson demon that singlehandedly brought the goddess of sloth and violence under my control," Megumin said as she dramatically twirled her staff around, taking clear joy in being admired by someone so cute.

"Hey! Possible conspiracy on our hands here, stop going off on so many tangents and focus, PLEASE!" Kazuma pleaded as he gestured on their prisoner.

"Yes, sorry Kazuma." Megumin apologized as she hid her face behind her new mage hat.

"We should wake him up, so we can interrogate him further, any wake-up alternatives."

"We could administrate pain to his private parts, that makes most people wake up instantly" Raphtalia suggested.

"No, any other suggestions." Kazuma immediately said after hearing her suggestion. (It would be unfair to stab him there twice.) he thought

Erhard then went over to his desk and pulled out a flask, he removed the cork and put it under the man's nose. It proved effective in waking the man, without making him scream out in agony.

"Smelling salts, very effective to wake up people. Maybe you guys want one or two flasks of this. It can wake up even the deepest sleeper." Erhard proudly proclaimed when he saw his product working.

"Where am I" the failed assassin looked around to have his eyes fell on Kazuma which made him freeze up in terror. "Please don't torture me anymore, I will tell you anything just please no more."

"What is he talking about dad?" Naofumi asked accusingly.

"I might have stabbed him a little in the baby maker to wake him up," Kazuma answered trying his best to look innocent.

"Really dad, that seems a bit much don't you think to just wake someone up?" Naofumi asked in a tired tone.

"Yes!" Kazuma quickly answered his son. Kazuma then shifted his gaze back to their prisoner, wearing a mischievous smile as he said. "Now start talking" Kazuma commanded.

The assassin just nodded as his face went pale, from realizing this was the shield hero's father and they had just tried to kill his son. (I am so fucked!) He screamed inside his head when he realized what lengths a parent would go to for the protection of their child, and he had just tried to kill him.

"Wait, there is a better way to secure correct information from him," Naofumi said.

"What is that?" Kazuma questioned looking intrigued for a more efficient way to collect information from their prisoner. He isn't lazy, he just likes to find the most efficient way.

"We could give him a slave crest, then he wouldn't be able to lie or disobey us without receiving severe pain." His son explained

"I TOLD YOU I WILL TELL YOU ANYTHING ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING JUST DON'T DOING ANYTHING MORE TO M… "clonk" The assassin screamed out as hard as he could before he got whacked in the back of the head with a black staff.

"SHUT UP, stop pleading so the whole street can hear, and just talk, you idiot," Megumin said in a tone so menacing and commanding that the assassin just started talking.

"I became an assassin at the age of 14 when me and my sister had no other option, I was named Suwon by my sister. After reaching level 60 we joined an assassin group that called themselves Deadly Red. One week after joining we got the mission to kill the shield hero from a person dressed in clothes belonging to "The three heroes" church. She was supposed to be up on the roof with another bowman while I got the shit job in the sewer. I got eager to get out of there when we were about to spring the surprise attack, but then I got the manhole cover slammed in my head. I woke up to the shield hero's father stabbing me in my privates and I seeing everyone around me laying there dead. That is all I know from the plan before and after I PROMISE!" Suwon explained without breathing in once before he was done explaining everything he knew

"He isn't lying," Erhard stated without any trace of doubt showing in his voice.

"Hmm, I trust Erhard on this one dad, he knew I was innocent even after no one else believed me to be, plus it adds up with what that woman said about the church being virtuous on the outside, but conniving and manipulating on the inside," Naofumi said.

"I trust your judgment on Erhard, but who told you about the church being like that, not that I can't relate to a church having crazy followers," Kazuma said as both him and Megumin shivered at the thought of the crazy Axis cultists.

"Some mysterious woman came up to me and told me that, and after that, she went away, but after what I have heard today we should be on guard for the "Three heroes church" and of course the royalty."

"But master, I don't think Melty is like her elder sister, she seemed genuinely interested in the Filolials. She also talke…" Filo tried to defend princess Melty before Naofumi interrupted her.

"All of the royalty is just manipulating assholes who are always looking for a way to make my life harder, so I will not trust Melty! Malty was also nice, to begin with, but just wait and see and she would have betrayed us at some point!" Naofumi yelled back in anger at Filo scaring her.

"Naofumi that is not how you talk to a child," Megumin said as she embraced Filo like a mother would embrace her own child while reprimanding her son for talking like that to her.

"I-I-I didn't mean to… I mean… I am sorry Filo, I just got so angry and lost control, I am not angry at you, I am angry at the royalty for mistreating me." Naofumi said as he saw how scared Filo was and the menacing look his mother was giving him.

"It is alright Master Naofumi." She quickly turned around her head to tell him, but then she sunk her head back into Megumin's embrace.

"Are you afraid of me now?" Naofumi asked seeing how quickly she returned to his mother's protective arms.

"No, I love you master Naofumi, but I just feel so safe by her, I can't explain it, it just feels righhht." Filo explained as she fell asleep in Megumin's arms.

"She is really cute," Megumin said as she held her, running her hand tenderly through her golden blonde hair.

Everyone went silent and just looked at Megumin taking care of Filo for a second before Kazuma silently declared that they should all get some sleep. Erhard offered for them to sleep in his shop, in light of the assassination attempt. He brought them some blankets and pillows before he went to bed himself. Megumin slept with Filo and Raphtalia, while Kazuma watched over their prisoner for the rest of the night, while Naofumi went to bed in another room. Kazuma got bored through the night so he spent some time pestering Suwon, to spend the time. When daylight arrived everyone was up except for Suwon and Kazuma.

**That is all I have for this chapter. The new semester just started so I needed to get that week inbox before I could finish this chapter. Hope it turned out good, I love the reviews I have gotten so far, people seem to enjoy it. I gave them high levels in this world, because of how much they have done in their old world before. I also wanted the reunion to be as messy as possible, but also sweet. I hope you liked to read it. The next chapter can take more time than this one did since my semester just started so be patient.**


	3. The Retaliation

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 3: The Retaliation

**Kazuma was tired after watching over Suwon all night, but Suwon was fast asleep because Kazuma had kept him awake with stories and jokes all night. It was in retaliation for trying to kill Naofumi, but also a way to take Suwon's thoughts of his deceased sister. Suwon did sleep with a smile on his face, since his sister had at least been granted a quick and painless death. As Naofumi and CO was eating their breakfast discussing how to act after uncovering a conspiracy against him. The new question now was, how far does the conspiracy go in the church. Are there others that conspire with them. While our heroes pondered these questions some mysterious shadows converged in an alley. **

"Hmm, it seems the attempt failed.**" **One of the shadows spoke up as he lightly kicked one of the corpses checking to see if it was still alive.

"It is unfortunate, but it doesn't matter our plan will still succeed." Another one spoke up as he counted the corpses.

"Fucking hell this was supposed to work, you promised me this would work fuckers. SO WHY ARE NONE OF THESE CORPSES ARE THAT CURSED SHIELD HERO." A woman screamed as she was violently kicking a corpse.

"Calm down, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves." The first male shadow spoke up.

"FUCK THAT, I WANT HIM DEAD, DEAD, DEAD." She continued to scream until she crushed the skull of the corpse she was kicking. "EEWWW, DISGUSTING I GOT IT ALL OVER MY FOOT." She screamed as the brain matter and cold blood splattered on her.

"What did you think would happen when you kick it, dead things disgust me." The other man spoke up.

"But HOW did he survive this, weren't all of these assassins meant to be level 60. We know for sure he hasn't passed level 40 so how did he survive this." The first man pondered.

"Didn't these idiots get an order to only attack him, IF he was alone?" The other man questioned.

"How many people did this assassin group consist of again, I only see 10 corpses." The woman said with a clearly annoyed look on her face.

"They were supposed to be 13." The first man answered.

"I only found 2 headless girls on top of the roof." A new shadow said as he landed in-between them.

"How did you know they were girls Nelly?" The second man questioned the newcomer in a mocking tone when mentioning his name.

"That plays no relevance towards the mission, and it is Necrojax when I am working." quickly replied as he pocketed a necklace.

"Hmm, so in total 12, I think one of them might have betrayed the rest. He first took out the archers, and while the rest of them tried to kill the shield hero, he must've shot the rest of them, which would explain the arrow wounds." The first shadow man explained to the others.

"There is no other explanation that makes sense, it is not like they attacked the wrong guy right. Also if they picked the wrong person, who could possibly be able to defeat 13 Lv 60 assassins. The thought itself is laughable." The second shadow man laughed as he explained his unlikely possibility.

"But why would he betray his group?" Nelly asked

"Money, women or power. That can sway most people in this profession." The woman said as she giggled over the thought, in a fashion making her seem more insane than cute.

"We will need to clean this mess up and then leave when that is done we can try to assassinate the crown princess." The first man spoke again.

"But we need to try and kill her in front of the shield hero, or else this will backfire. So that if it fails we can play it off as a hostage-taking." The second said.

"I like this plan, and when we reacquire her we kill her and say that the shield hero placed a curse on her." The woman said.

"You majorly creep me out princess," Nelly said

"Don't say my title out in the open like that idiot!" Princess Malty yelled back at Nelly.

"Well, I will return to my party, we need to prepare for the upcoming wave, ta-da gentlemen." Princess Malty said as she started to wander off on her own.

"Well start the clean-up you two I will report back that the shield hero is still alive, and he has acquired a new ally." The first man said before he just vanished.

"Well I guess it is just us then, HEY WHERE DID YOU GO?" Nelly looked around in pure befuddlement as he understood he was the one that drew the short straw and had to clean up the bodies. (This would have been fun if I had more time, now it is just all work.) Nelly thought to himself as he picked up a corpse.

As princess Bitc… I mean as princess Malty walked back to her party she was fortunate enough to be bestowed a pitch of ice-cold water on her as she walked under one of the windows. The woman that had thrown out her dirty bathwater received a lot of swears and profanities for her careless disposal of it. She apologized profusely to her as she begged for forgiveness. Malty didn't give her any forgiveness, but she went on her way smelling awful, soaking wet and cold.

The woman that threw out her bathwater that morning did, however, start laughing the moment Malty was gone. "Hahaha, that is what you get! Luckily I didn't purify this batch." The woman said exhilarated from the experience. She then wrote "Attempt 17 was successful," in her notebook before she disappeared.

**/Meanwhile in Erhard's weapons shop**

They were all sitting by a table that Erhard had been able to procure for them. They were eating well today since Kazuma had challenged his son to a cooking duel like they used to do back in the day. Kazuma revealed that he had always been using the cooking skill that he acquired when he was an adventurer, something Naofumi had picked up automatically from his father over the years they had been cooking together. Kazuma and Naofumi both made breakfast even a king might have been envious of, so to say the group was well fed afterward would be a major understatement.

"BURP!" both father and son burped out in unison like they used to do when they ate dinner together.

"That is still disgusting you two," Megumin said with a smile on her face, it was great seeing her son and husband get along, even if it was over that disgusting burping game.

"Burp." A tiny burp came out of Filo as she started giggling.

"Look master Naofumi I was able to do it too." She said wearing a cute smile, as her little wings flapped.

"Oh no, you two won't corrupt her too!" Megumin erupted as she protectively put her arms around Filo, as an act to shield her from the burping idiots sitting across of them.

"Amateurs!" The host suddenly erupted with a smug smile, as he let out a burp so loud that one could feel the rumble going through one's bones. "Now, beat that."

They looked on in astonishment at the shopkeeper's burping skills.

"That was ama…"

"BUUUUUUUUUUURP," Kazuma's praise was interrupted as the burp of all burps rang out through the room, from no other than Raphtalia. This burp was on such a level that even Megumin couldn't do anything but appreciate the shockwave it gave off, our explosion enthusiast adores any aspect of explosions especially shockwaves.

"Sorry, but I had to, tanuki people can't process gas the same, so if we don't get rid of it we might die from an exploding stomach." She looked away ashamed of the ear-deafening burp she had just blurted out.

"Accepted!" Both Kazuma and Megumin excitedly yelled out in unison.

"W-what do you mean by that?" she asked timidly

"We accept you as our granddaughter." They cheerfully said as they raised their glasses

In response to this Raphtalia started sulking (Not even his parents recognize me as a potential romantic partner.)

"Ok, onto another note. So these waves contain with monsters and all the heroes got a timer that tells them how much time there is before the next wave. Does that summarize it well enough?" Kazuma asked.

"Well mostly, the next wave arrives in about 9 days, and we can't change classes because of the trash king, which means we are level-capped at 40," Naofumi explained losing his happy expression and returning to the somber one that he had unfortunately gotten used to, after all the shit he had been put through.

"Do you want to do something fun?" Kazuma asked Naofumi as he wore a mischievous smile.

"What are you suggesting?" Naofumi retorted with a smile eerily similar to his father.

"We will scout out the enemy out, nothing MORE THAN THAT." He answered his son.

"Hmm, well said, of course, we need to find out more about our enemy, scouting, for now, should be fine and nothing MORE THAN THAT." Naofumi agreed.

"Sounds like you two are planning to do more than just scouting." Megumin put in as she ran her hands through Filo's golden hair.

(Oh they are definitely up to something, but I want to see where this leads.) Erhard thought as he heard the boys scheming.

"Naofumi, give me a tour of the city, I will be using {Lurk} to stay in the shadows." He said

"But won't it look weird for me to give a tour of the city to Raphtalia and Filo, they already know the city layout after all."

"I will be in the shadows, but you will, of course, be touring your mother around the city, avoiding suspicion. We don't need to show them all our cards, so we won't tell them that Megumin is your mother."

"What will I be then?" Megumin asked a little worried about what Kazuma would come up with.

"No need to take it too far from the truth, you will just be an archmage that joined his party."

"I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE THE RING OFF!" Megumin yelled out, clearly insulted making her eyes shining bright red. "I didn't like the views the vendor gave me, and from what Filo tells me this spear hero is a creep. The ring at least keeps me safe from that." Megumin got up and stood in front of her husband.

"YOU WON'T TAKE IT OFF! I will just hide that I exist. You will still be an archmage, let us say married with a sailor out on the sea." Kazuma said in a stern tone.

"But why won't you show that you are here with me to everyone?" Megumin asked thinking (Why do we need to hide it again, the first time we didn't tell people about our relationship Darkness ended up stealing your first kiss. When we got to Japan, they told me to hide my child and marriage, to become a more attractive idol. That only lead to that nightmare… NOT AGAIN!)

"It won't be like hiding our relationship have gone before, and that won't happen again I promise you." Kazuma reassuringly said as he put his hands on Megumin shoulders and stared into Megumin's burning red eyes. His calm green against her burning red.

"I-I trust you, but don't you dare take your eye off us." She said in an indignant tone as her eyes started to reside.

"Well with that settled we will make the carriage ready, Filo and Raphtalia come with me," Naofumi commanded as he got up and went outside

"Yes master Naofumi!" they both yelled out in unison, without a second of hesitation they followed after him.

"Hey, no need to be so in such a hurry about it, I am still tired after being a prison guard all night," Kazuma said as he shifted his attention from Megumin's gaze, ruining the moment they had.

"Hmph, of course," Megumin said in great annoyance that their moment had been ruined.

"Dad just drink this, and you can be awake for the whole tour." He said as he threw Kazuma a potion with a milky white color.

"Ok, then," Kazuma said as he managed to catch the potion, and quickly drank it all up.

Kazuma instantly fell asleep after drinking the potion.

"W-what, why would you do that, to your own father of all things master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked totally surprised by her master's action.

"Because he gets cranky when he doesn't get enough sleep, so a stamina potion would not solve the problem. So I instead gave him a hyper-sleep potion. It makes you fall asleep instantly, and makes you able to feel rested after just sleeping just 1/10 of what you would normally need." Naofumi explained as he gestured for them to go out and load the carriage.

Megumin just looked at her husband laying on the floor sleeping peacefully. "So he will be out for 2 hours." She said before she leant down and petted his head tenderly.

"I guess closer to 1-hour mom, no one needs 20 hours of sleep." He said as he went out the door following after Raphtalia and Filo.

"So how long will he be asleep you think?" Megumin asked Erhard.

"I am guessing 20 minutes," Erhard said as he went back to his work.

Megumin picked up Kazuma with ease and carried him into a private room tucking him into bed. "_Ha, looks like our roles are reversed this time dear._" She whispered with a cute smile as she caressed Kazuma's face.

"_I want a daughter. No, I can't say it like that. Kazuma I have been thinking for a while, shouldn't we try to get a daughter. Yeah, that could work._" She whispered to herself as she looked at the sleeping Kazuma. (Should I maybe be more direct) she thought.

"_Fuck me Kazuma. NO, I can't say that. Maybe, Kazuma I have wanted a daughter for so long, you told me that I could name our baby if it was a girl, and you could name them if it was a boy back then, so let us try for a daughter._" She continued to whisper to herself and the sleeping Kazuma.

"_Sounds fun_" Kazuma whispered back to her as she was tenderly stroking his hair.

Megumin didn't catch that he was awake for a second, but then she suddenly stopped stroking his hair as she looked into his very open eyes.

"How much of that did you hear?" She asked as she started to blush profusely.

"Oh, I came back to my senses the moment you started carrying me." He informed her.

Now Megumin's face got so red from the embarrassment that her eyes and face had matching colors.

"I haven't seen you this embarrassed for some time, it is really cute." He said with a smile on his face. "But why do you suddenly want a daughter?"

"Because I saw Filo and Raphtalia, it is fun to have something I can call granddaughters… But it just reminded me that I always wanted a daughter." Megumin explained to him as she leaned in closer to him.

"I have one requirement if we do this," Kazuma said as he stared into her red eyes.

"What, is it?" she asked pleadingly.

"NOT IN MY SHOP!" Erhard yelled out as he burst into the room and interrupted the couple.

"AAAH!" they both screamed as the blacksmith burst into the room totally ruining the moment they were having.

"HOW?" They asked with matching red faces.

"I could hear you, I hear anything going on in my shop. If you want to do it go to an inn." He told the two laying in the bed, before he lowered his voice and left the room.

"Hahaha, something never changes does it." Kazuma started laughing as he remembered how they used to be interrupted back in the days.

"Not everything is as fun to repeat." She said while pouting.

"What about this," Kazuma said as he leaned into a deep kiss with Megumin, she was pleasantly shocked at how forward he suddenly acted. She reached out her hands and pulled him deeper into the kiss as they started to let their tongues go on an exploration into the other's mouth. When they released from the kiss, Megumin started to get groggy.

"That is better to repeat…" she slurred her words as she fell asleep.

"Dammit still some potion left in my mouth," Kazuma said partly disappointed at the abrupt end of the kiss and part happy because he got to see his beautiful wife sleeping peacefully.

(Good to see {Potion boost} still works though.) he thought as he tucked her in, but since she had already slept well the night before she woke up after just a few minutes.

**{Potion boost} will passively grant a 10 x boost to all potions the user consumes, note: this ability boost both negative and positive potion effects, so don't drink something that has negative effects.**

Kazuma left the room with Megumin, which shocked Naofumi that just came in to get another box of supplies. Because Kazuma had just been sleeping for something close to 6 minutes. When he had used the potion it had only sped up his sleep time 10x. So either his father doesn't need more than 1 hour of sleep or he has some ability he doesn't know about. Now would be a great time to question him since they were ahead of schedule.

"Dad what ability did you use to wake up so quickly?" Naofumi questioned his father

"Oh, the ability I used just now is called {Potion boost} it is a passive ability that should be self-explanatory in what it does."

"Ok, yeah that would explain it. But what abilities does mom have?" Naofumi questioned as he directed his gaze towards his mother.

"The greatest, most powerful, most wonderful ability of them all, of course, it is EXPLOS…" Megumin was stopped by Kazuma just before she could yell out the last word.

"Idiot have you forgotten that you can cast instantly now. You could have killed us all with that chant of yours." Kazuma said as he held his hand firmly in front of her mouth, not letting a single word escape.

Megumin just looked back at him with a guilty smile hidden by his firm hand. (Whoops, I forgot.) Her eyes did, however, shine up a little bit from being held so tightly by Kazuma.

"Hey, what was she about to cast?" Erhard said nervously.

"Explosion magic," Kazuma said in a stern tone.

"How devastating would that be?" Naofumi asked.

"It is easier to show than tell, so you will see it at some point," Kazuma said as he released his grip on Megumin.

"Well, with that over we should probably leave for the tour." Naofumi said before he also realized "Wait for a second, shouldn't we form a party her let me show you how you do it." Naofumi then first proceeded to show Megumin how to join his party, but for some reason, it wouldn't work.

{**WARNING**}**: Unknown error has occurred please do not proceed.**

It said on Naofumi's player Hud as he got a shock from trying to have his mother join his party, he then tried do let Kazuma join his party, but the same warning flashed up, only this time Kazuma got the shock.

"What is going on, why isn't this working?" Naofumi said in total befuddlement as he looked at his father rolling around on the floor in pain.

"Naofumi what are the consequences for not being able to be in the same party together, aren't they more of a formality?" Megumin asked as she pointed on her husband, gesturing for Naofumi to do something.

"{First heal}" Naofumi cast on Kazuma so he would stop being in pain, clearly he had more damage resistance than his father. "The consequences are that you won't be teleported with me when the wave hits, and you won't gain any EXP from the monsters my party defeats." He explained

"EXP is shared?" Kazuma asked now very intrigued.

"Yes, it is shared if you are in the same party, the one that defeats the monster gets most of the EXP though," Naofumi explained.

"Megumin wants to see if we can form a party?" Kazuma asked totally excited at the thought.

"Well I guess, we can do it for old times' sake if you really want to." Megumin looking away.

Kazuma and Megumin then went on to actually party up without any further difficulties. Megumin did, however, get a prompt up on her player Hud. It said, "**You can summon 1 available familiar, do you wish to execute this action.**" Megumin instantly pressed yes, because why not summon a familiar.

"Eh, Megumin what did you just do," Kazuma asked as a blue ball appeared in the middle of the room and started to grow.

"I summoned my familiar." She retorted with her usual energy as her eyes lit up.

"Since when can you summon things?" Kazuma asked with some panic showing in his voice, as he backed away from the glowing blue ball looking like it was about to explode.

"Since now." She said as she got closer to the blue ball of light, and when she came in contact with the ball it disappeared as she had just popped a balloon.

Megumin was a little disappointed while the rest of the men in the shop let out a sigh of relief. The familiar that laid on the floor right now licking her black fur was Chomusuke. When the black cat looked up from her cleanup project and noticed that she was no longer on Kazuma's pillow, but instead in a place she had never seen before she freaked out until she finally saw Megumin. The cat then understood her mistress had summoned her and stopped freaking out. Chomusuke did not go to her mistress because the second thing she saw was her favorite person in the universe, Kazuma. She quickly sprinted to Kazuma and rubbed herself against his leg.

"Hey I am here, why does this always happen?" Megumin said with a pouty as she saw her own familiar betray her and cuddle up with her husband, instead of jumping up in her outstretched arms. But on both Megumin's and Kazuma's party status, Chomusuke appeared listed under Megumin, which was listed under Kazuma essentially making him the leader of the party.

"Well, then should we get going?" Kazuma excitedly said as he tenderly picked up Chomusuke. In return, Chomusuke rubbed herself against him as he petted her.

"Do you think you can be covert while you are holding onto her." Megumin pointed out, with some annoyance showing in her voice.

"No, I thought she was going to travel with you in the carriage." Kazuma simply retorted with as he went over to Megumin and handed Chomusuke over to her. Chomusuke didn't resist she loved them both, she just like Kazuma a tad more.

"It is only fitting for a familiar and her mistress to be together," Megumin said in a tone resembling that of a high-status woman before she quickly turned around to hide her childish glee.

(Who is the mistress again.) Naofumi thought as he saw his mother spoiling Chomusuke, while the cat just laid in her arms enjoying herself.

"Well, let us get going, mom." He said as he left through the door quickly followed by his mother carrying Chomusuke.

"I hope you can take care of Suwon while we are gone," Kazuma said as he directed his attention towards Erhard.

"That won't be a problem, he is not going anywhere," Erhard said with confidence as he looked over at the sleeping assassin.

"I will be off then {Concealment}" Kazuma said as he turned invisible. Shocking Erhard a little bit.

"Damn, he is good," Erhard uttered before he went back to work.

"So what is the first place you want to show us?" Megumin asked as she sat down in the packed carriage next to her son holding the reins, with Raphtalia at the back and Filo in her Filolial form ready to drag this carriage.

"First we could just travel a little bit around in the city showing you the outlay," Naofumi said as he gave a little smack with his reins to make Filo start moving.

"Finally," Filo said in pure exhilaration, she finally got to drag this heavy carriage that she had been waiting for all morning. The carriage was usually so light in her opinion, but this time the carriage was packed.

Kazuma using his {Lurk} skill followed behind them from the rooftops. (This is going to be a little tiresome, but I got a great view over them.)

(Oh, I have an outfit inventory, let me just quickly check. What I have the thief costume, let me equip that.) Kazuma thought as he initiated the outfit swap. Now he stood on top of the rooftops wearing a black and white mask bestowed upon him by Vanir, while the rest of him was covered in black. The mask avoided anyone from recognizing his voice as well as his face.

He continued to follow behind them, then he saw a person spying on them. She was wearing a cloak and a mask to hide her face. (Now, that looks fucking suspicious) he thought as he got behind the suspicious person. He then jumped the person, quickly immobilizing her.

"_WTF are you doing following after them?_" Kazuma whispered inquisitively as she held down the covert person. He didn't give the spy any room to retaliate as he unmasked the spy, revealing it to be an objectively beautiful brown-haired woman. Kazuma a true advocate of gender equality didn't get startled by the fact he was straddling a woman, no he tightened his grip. She stared back at him with a serious and neutral face, intently observing her opponent.

"_I'll ask again, why are you following that carriage, are you planning to kill them_?" as Kazuma whispered the last part he tightened his grip.

"_Are you trying to protect them_?" she asked as she understood why this man had restrained her.

"_Of course I am, and if that means killing you to keep them safe, I will do it_." Kazuma menacingly said as he put his sword against her throat.

"_Hmm, you don't seem to be lying, I am not here to kill these people or bring harm to them in any way. I am tasked with keeping a watch over the shield hero's party, in case something were to happen to them I would help them. It seems we share the same goal._" The woman explained, without ever showing any fear or hesitation in her words, she didn't show any emotions.

(She doesn't seem to be lying, but she could be manipulating me.) Kazuma thought, still holding the blade to her throat. "_Who do you work for, talk_?" he said with as much menace as he could muster whilst whispering.

"_I am one of the queen's shadows, we mostly observe how the kingdom operates while the queen is gone. I have been ordered to keep watch on the Shield hero. Would that suffice?_" she whispered back to our masked Kazuma.

(Hmm, yeah that could make sense. Some people warned Naofumi about the conspiracy going on in this, three heroes church. She doesn't seem to be lying, so I will trust her.) "_You never saw me, and I will know if you tell anyone about me,"_ Kazuma whispered as he removed his sword from her throat.

In response to his words, the spy said: "_Very well, but I will keep an eye on you._"

"_You can try, but you will only see me if I want to_ {Concealment}" Kazuma said as he turned invisible and the shadow could feel the hold on her disappear.

(What kind of man can be stealthier than a Shadow? Who is he? I have never heard of him or seen him. He must be a professional "The perfect shadow"). As the woman thought this she could feel her heartbeat just a bit faster. (No, Shadows don't fall in love or give in to feelings.) She thought as she breathed in and out letting her heart calm down. Her hand went over her neck to check for any blood, not finding anything. This only made her remember her youthful days.

**/10 years ago**

"Petrissa will you marry me?" a young man asked her.

"I will only marry a man if he is better than me, I have seen what you have done I will not marry you, you are not only a man with no skills but also a horrible man that mistreats the people around him." Petrissa scolded the man as she left him behind.

**/Present time**

(He was better than me, he unmasked me if I ever catch him I will do the same. I must find more out about this mysterious and hands… man, I must find more information about this man this is only in relation to the mission.) Petrissa thought as she went to her rendezvous point.

Kazuma was now using all his energy to catch up with the carriage that had been driving away as he tangled with that spy. (Megumin would be so jealous if she saw me back there.) he thought as he finally caught up to the carriage. It had been stopped by none other than The spear hero's party.

"So where do you think you are going Naofumi." Bitc… I mean princess whor… Malty commanded as she blocked the path for them.

"That is none of your business!" Naofumi sternly said as he tried to pass them, again being blocked by Motoyasu (fuckboymcgee).

"Who might you be beautiful?" Motoyasu asked as he tried to grab Megumin's hand to kiss it, he was however abruptly stopped when a potted plan hit him right in the head.

"WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT COME FROM," Motoyasu yelled as he looked up to the rooftops not seeing anything suspicious.

(DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!) Kazuma screamed in his head as he looked at the idiot that just tried to touch his wife. (OH, I SAW WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO, GET ANY CLOSER AND THAT HAND IS COMING OFF.) Kazuma thought as he drew his blade, ready to go in.

"I wouldn't try to do that to a married woman Motoyasu, it brings bad luck," Naofumi said as directed his attention towards Megumin's wedding ring.

"Did you marry Naofumi, don't you know what kind of scum he is, he tried to force himself on Malty when he got drunk," Motoyasu said with clear shock.

"I am married to a handsome sailor currently at sea, Naofumi is just showing me around in the city. But why do you say so many things that are untrue about him?" Megumin said in a calm tone as she realized this sleazy guy would never even get close to her, but also shocked at that someone would say her son got drunk.

"Ok, so you are married to a sailor out at seas, he must be a very lucky man. I swear that everything I just said about him is true, after all, the one he attacked stands right over there." Motoyasu said as he pointed over at bitc… princess Malty.

"You say he attacked her after he got drunk and lost control?" Megumin asked with feigned concern directing the question towards whor… Malty.

"Yes, he is a brute and cannot be trusted I advise you get away from him right away." She said with very convincing acting as she put on teary eyes and let her voice whimper.

"But Naofumi can't get drunk, which means that what you are saying is a lie." Megumin smugly informed the group in front of her.

"W-what do you mean he can't get drunk, everyone can get drunk if they drink enough" Bitc… Malty said a little startled by someone seeing through her act.

"No, I have seen him drink whiskey like it was juice," Megumin informed them as she thought back to her last meeting with Aqua.

**/Aqua's blessing**

"Megumin, I don't ever want you or Kazuma to ever get drunk again so I will give you immunity to all alcohols. It will also affect all your children." Aqua said annoyed at her newfound godhood.

"But why?" Megumin and Kazuma asked her in unison

"Because if I can't get drunk anymore, so shouldn't you." She informed them before they were transported to Japan.

And they had found out the hard way that they couldn't get drunk anymore after they went to a bar and won every drinking contest without feeling as much as a little bit tipsy. Aqua can be really petty.

**/Present time**

(Wait, mom knows I can't get drunk since when she has never seen me drink or…) Naofumi thought as he looked on in surprise at his mother defending him.

At the same time, Kazuma took out some rope he had in his pocket and threw it at Malty's feet. He then used {Bind} to tie the ropes around her feet, so that when she started walking she would fall over. This action would garner more amusement than he could imagine.

"No one can drink that muuuehhhh" Malty screamed as she stumbled forward.

Luck would have it so that the spear hero was carelessly holding his spear behind him, just in the path that Malty was currently falling. (Un)fortunately, Motoyasu was able to react to her screaming in time that the spear didn't chop her head off, but she did receive a small cut on her cheek. Malty was still stricken with fear when she realized the spear had cut her because she had imbued the spear with poison the night before.

(Oh fuck this isn't good, I didn't fucking buy any antidote) She thought as the severity of the situation set in. Her face went pale as the blood drained from it, and she could feel a small burning sensation spread from her wound. She had 20 minutes left to live, or maybe the shield hero had an antidote. Would she stoop as low as to beg for her life, HELL YEAH SHE WOULD.

"Does anyone have an antidote for manticore poison?" She first tried to probe the question to not needlessly beg for her life if he didn't have an antidote.

"I have some, but why are you asking?" Naofumi said while scowling at the two-faced bitch laying on the ground.

"Well, the spear just that just cut me has manticore poison on it, so hand it over." She commanded.

Naofumi understanding how much leverage he now held over her, he started grinning. "Remember to die slowly and painfully." He said as he again tried to leave.

"NO! Please I need the antidote or I will die!" She now said pleadingly as real tears emerged from her eyes.

"Wonderful news, now Filo let us get moving," Naofumi said as just the thought of that bitch dying brought him so much joy.

"NO! I won't let you leave before you have handed over that antidote." Motoyasu said as heroically as he could manage, in his head, it sounded great, but in reality, it was really embarrassing to watch. He got into a battle stance as he pointed his spear towards Naofumi.

(FUCK OFF!) Kazuma thought as he chucked another potted plant towards him, hitting him in the back of his head with a lot of force.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE THESE POTTED PLANTS COMING FROM!" Motoyasu yelled as he darted his eyes around to look for the culprit, of course not seeing anyone.

As he turned his back to Filo to look for the potted plant chucker, she took the great opportunity to kick him in the balls making him fly. She then started running away dragging the carriage with her, leaving

"Good job Filo," Naofumi and Megumin said in unison as they left the pleading Malty, the still flying Motoyasu and the other shocked spear hero party members behind.

"Our current objective is to keep this antidote away from that bitch at all cost," Naofumi said as they were riding away.

"Understood," both Filo and Raphtalia said as they got battle-ready.

Kazuma was now back on the roof following after his family, wearing an evil grin. He couldn't tell exactly why, but throwing potted plants at that spear hero gave him so much satisfaction. He had thrown another at him while in midair, it hit him straight in the face breaking his nose.

(I would throw more stuff, but I think I got the best result from that situation and I need to keep my family safe.) He thought as he picked up another potted plant, just in case.

**The current objective is to let bitc… princess Malty die. Will our heroes succeed or not. Yeah, you get to know more about that in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wonder how they are going to deal with the next wave if they can't bring Megumin and Kazuma with them. Well, we will find out next time.**


	4. Chase and Discovery

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 4. Chapter 4: Chase and Discovery

**On the run away from the (in)justice system that wants to take away his antidote for manticore poison, to save princess bitc… Malty after her poison plan went wrong. Kazuma has acquired a new favorite weapon to stun enemies with, the fearsome and abundant potted plants that lay around in the city. The three heroes church has gathered soldiers together with the king to acquire the antidote from Naofumi. Motoyasu has been able to come back to his senses after he went flying. Ren (The sword hero) and Itsuki (The bow hero) have blocked off their own respective side of the city. Can the Iwatani family escape all of this?**

"Master Naofumi, the cavalry is right behind us!" Raphtalia yelled from the backside of the carriage as four horsemen rode behind them with swords drawn.

"Can you hold them off for now?" Naofumi yelled back as he took a hard left turn, almost making Raphtalia fall off the carriage, but in return one of the horsemen crashed into a fruit stand.

"I can't hit them from here, but I can fight them off if they try to get on the carriage," Raphtalia answered as she rose back up.

({Snipe}{Steal}) Kazuma thought as he first drew an arrow and fired it at the carriage, before he stole a metal pin from one of the horse saddles.

First Raphtalia was startled by the arrow landing right next to her almost hitting her in the foot, but then she saw that the arrow had a note attached to it.

"BAH!" one of the horsemen yelled as his saddle lost its grip and he slid off to the right and crashed into his neighbor. That was a two for one offer, unfasten 1 horse saddle take out 2 riders.

Now with only one horse rider behind them he was quickly taken out by a potted plant, which gave Raphtalia the opportunity to read the note attached to it. "NO EXPLOSIONS IN THE CITY!" She yelled out as she read the words Kazuma had scribbled down.

"I-I wouldn't do that" Megumin stammered as she looked away a little guilty.

(Why was dad so adamant for mom to not use her magic?) Naofumi wondered as they came to a roadblock.

Naofumi instantly tried to turn around, but then he was cornered by none other than Motoyasu. He now stood in front of them with a bandaged nose clearly ready for battle. He might be an idiot, but he got plenty of stamina.

"Hand over the antidote Naofumi!" Motoyasu commanded as he got ready to attack.

"Watch out a potted plant!" Naofumi yelled making Motoyasu instantly turn around, to nothing.

Motoyasu turned back to face them, now angry at being made a fool of "Ha-ha, very funny" he said in an annoyed tone "OW, FUCK!" He yelled as yet another potted plant landed on his head.

"Maybe you should invest in a helmet, the potted plants seem to have it out for you." Naofumi said in a mocking tone as he tried his best not to laugh.

(There are potted plants all around in this city, mixed with {Steal} I have almost limitless ammo.) Kazuma thought as he readied another potted plant for its tour to Motoyasu's head.

"Oh shut it, if I ever find the person who is throwing these things I will… I will…"

(Die, you would die) Megumin and Naofumi silently thought as they saw Motoyasu go on a tantrum.

"Hand over the fucking antidote!" Motoyasu again commanded, but this time he was on guard for any flying potted plants coming from behind.

"Why would I help that bitch, she can go die for all I care. She got a taste of her own medicine." Naofumi said with a serious expression as he got ready to leave.

"Then I will stop you AHHH" Motoyasu yelled as he tried to take a step forward, but his feet was bound together, which caused him to faceplant right into a potted plant.

"GO FILO!" Naofumi ordered, getting away from the counterproductive spear hero and the roadblock.

"Why do you think he keeps using the potted plants?" Naofumi asked his mother

"Could be he is saving his more important items for later, or he could just be messing with him," Megumin answered as drummed her fingers on her black staff, she wanted to try it so badly.

"Knowing him, it would probably mean he just wanted to mess with him." Naofumi said as they took another turn.

"Stop right there!" a young boys voice commanded, it was the bow hero blocking their path this time.

"Can you guys just leave me alone, I was just going for a city tour today, not a manhunt." Naofumi angered over the effort this city would go through to make his life worse.

"If you hand over the manticore antidote you are free to leave, but if you refuse…" Itsuki said as he readied his bow for a shot.

(Dad don't fail me now) "You are going to miss that shot, and I will get past you Itsuki. I won't even have to lift a finger." Naofumi informed the young archer as he sat back down and ordered Filo to keep going.

"Well, then I will prove you wrong {Meteor arrow}" as he loosed his arrow another arrow hit his bow making the shot miss by a mile.

({Snipe}x5) Kazuma thought after he loosed his first arrow making the bow hero miss. These 5 other arrows would pin Itsuki to the ground, making it simple for Naofumi to travel past him.

As Naofumi passed by the bow hero he couldn't help but mock him "Now that is ironic, the bow hero was defeated with arrows." As he said that Megumin couldn't help but laugh a little.

(I am so TIRED of this.) Kazuma thought as he followed behind from the rooftops.

Naofumi was almost out of the city by this point, but there was still one hero left to stand in his way. Ren was however not alone, but he wasn't with his usual party either. The person that accompanied the sword hero and stood next to now was princess Melty. She was wearing a blue/white dress while her blue hair was made into two pigtails, just like last time they had met.

"I must ask you to hand over the antidote Naofumi." Ren commanded in the same tone just as the two before him.

"I will not help that bitch, and I will get past you Ren." Naofumi threatened.

"Then I have no other choice than to AAAH!" As Ren took a step forward he fell into the manhole, which suddenly had lost its cover. Two seconds later a big splash could be heard from the manhole as Ren belly-flopped into the sewage below.

Kazuma stood a few meters away holding the manhole cover he had just used {Steal} to acquire. (That should be everyone) he thought as he threw the manhole cover away.

"Please Shield Hero, I beg of you to save my sister from the poison that she has been afflicted with." Melty begged with big puppy eyes as tears started to form.

"Why should I save her, she is the reason my life has been so shit lately," Naofumi said as he got ready to leave through the gate, but he was stopped by Melty that got down on her knees and started to cry.

"I beg of you, I do not wish to attend my sisters funeral today, I can pay for it if you want, I can give you 100 silver… no 100 gold pieces for the antidote." She desperately yelled as she was down on her knees crying her eyes out.

Naofumi looked away from the crying princess, it was hard to look at her like that. He didn't get the feeling that she was trying to manipulate him, but she was royalty and she was pleading for the bitch's life. He looked at Filo to get her to start going, but Filo just looked back at him with the same pleading look. Averting his gaze from Filo he now had to look his mother in the eyes, she wore the same pleading look as the two youngest but she didn't say anything. With that look, she silently told him "_it is your decision_". Reluctantly he pulled out the manticore antidote and presented it to her.

"100 gold and it is yours" he somberly told her.

Without a second of hesitation, she gave him the money pouch as she grabbed the potion. Still teary-eyed Melty spoke "Thank you very much Shield Hero, I will not forget this." Her voice filled with genuine gratitude. She started running away with the antidote in hand.

"Thank you master Naofumi" Filo said as she looked at Naofumi in pure admiration.

"If he hadn't given it, I would have given it to her" Kazuma said as he suddenly appeared inside of the carriage. He was clearly exhausted from the rooftop-race, and he had changed back to his normal attire. They might have attacked him if he wore his mask and black outfit.

"AAAH!" everyone exclaimed at his sudden appearance, except for Megumin.

"Your father has always had a soft spot for little princesses," Megumin informed as she chuckled a little at the thought. "I think you made the right decision," Megumin said reassuringly to her son.

"We will have to wait and see," Naofumi said as he turned the carriage around to go back into the city.

"Hey, Raphtalia do you want to put back the manhole cover before we leave?" Kazuma asked as he pointed to the manhole cover with one hand and the manhole with the other.

"Sure." She said as she got up and got the manhole cover and flung it back on. When it hit you could hear a metallic cling and a "THUD" like it hit someone's head when it was flung back in place.

"Shouldn't you go back on the roof?" Megumin asked

"Eh, it is fine, my {Enemy detection} will go off if someone with hostile intent gets close." Kazuma lazily retorted as he dozed off.

**/meanwhile with bit… I mean Malty**

The burning had spread all across her body, if she didn't get the antidote soon she would surely die. Problems with breathing had led to her needing to get carried by the two other girls in her party on a stretcher. Luckily for them, she was too focused on staying alive to berate them like she usually would. Breathing hard now started hurting as well. Every breath she took felt like swallowing needles. Then her savior came sprinting over to her with the antidote.

"Here sister drink this," she says as she removes the cork from the bottle, leaning bitc… Malty's head back as she could easily pour it into her mouth.

When the antidote hit Malty's tongue her relief was immediate. The pain faded away in seconds and as soon as she was done drinking the antidote she took in huge breaths of air.

"Ah, that was better. I presume since you have the antidote the shield hero was killed." Malty said with a smug grin.

"Eh, no. I bought the antidote from him." Melty simply informed her sister as she let out a sigh of relief knowing that she would be fine.

"WHAT, HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY THAT MONSTER!" Bitc… Malty screamed at her little sister angry that Naofumi had earned something from her suffering.

"Sister, why are you so mad at the shield hero, he seems fairly nice from what I can tell. I don't believe these rumors you have spread about him." The blue-haired princess said with a little contempt in her voice.

"I swear that man is filled with nothing but malice." She lied as easily as she breathed.

"From what I can tell he is caring and compassionate, he takes good care of his slaves almost like they were his children," Melty said her voice filled with nothing but praise.

"My dear sister you have clearly been deceived by him did you not see that he has nothing but slaves in his party, no one with free will would stay in that party." She continued to lie with no problems, she even enjoyed berating Naofumi.

"There was a woman with him though, I have never seen her before but she was fairly beautiful and she seemed to be a mage from what I could tell." Melty countered with.

"Ah, she is just the wife of a sailor no one important, Naofumi was showing her around in the city." One of the girls interjected with.

"She was quite beautiful, from the looks of it I would say she is younger than Myne." The other girl that had been carrying bitc… Malty continued. "I wonder how her first meeting with her husband must've been." She continued dreamingly.

"It must have been very romantic for her to marry him at such a young age" the first girl argued

As an old-looking woman walked by she started laughing hysterically, but the little group of girls paid her no mind, but Melty got up as she had remembered something.

"Well as the crown princess I have more important business to tend to sister since you are no longer in mortal danger I can leave you with your companions," Melty said as she went over to an awaiting carriage waving goodbye.

(You can call yourself that for now, but soon I will get the title I rightfully deserve.) The princess thought with an envious grin spreading across her face as she clenched her fist together, imagining herself crushing the carriage containing her sister THAT JUST SAVED HER LIFE.

**/Back with our heroes**

A group of people stood in front of Naofumi's carriage blocking their path, which seems to be the theme for the day. Suddenly one of them stepped forward presenting a bag, this surprised Naofumi at first before he recognized the group. They had asked to join his party yesterday, did they really collect it that fast.

"We have the money you asked for," the young soldier said as he presented the bag.

(They were actually willing to collect the money, hmm they pass for now)"Then you can by some equipment for them, I don't need you to be a burden to me." Naofumi said in a stern tone as he pushed the bag of money back into the soldier's hand.

The group looked a little shocked at first, but then they smiled. "Thank you very much shield hero." He said as he bowed his group following suit.

"Why are you still standing in my way, you got more important things to do, go now!" Naofumi ordered, which they instantly complied with.

"Hmm, you tested them to see if they were willing to give you the money, based on their expressions I would say they thought they would be buying something worthless, but were relieved to see you wanted them to buy their own equipment." Kazuma correctly observed it had been hard getting away with things as a kid when both parents were this observant.

"Do you always know what is going on?" Naofumi said in a little mocking tone.

"I simply observed and deduced the most likely scenario, dear Watson" Kazuma said in an attempt to sound like Sherlock Holmes.

"Weren't you supposed to be covert" Naofumi pointed out annoyed at his father's antics.

"So where are we going next?" Megumin asked interrupting the two squabbling boys.

"I guess we can go and see the hourglass, maybe you two can deduce more about it than me since you are isekai veterans," Naofumi explained.

"Ok, you two can go make a distraction and I will go inspect the hourglass," Kazuma said very intrigued about this hourglass.

As they came close to the building with the hourglass, Kazuma left the carriage hidden by the effects of {Lurk}. The building containing the hourglass was pretty straightforward so finding it was no problem. Getting close enough to touch it was the problem. It was surrounded by plenty of nuns which seemed to be in prayer by it. The plan was to get Megumin to make a commotion in a peaceful way by making her sing. In the meantime Naofumi would lazily stroll around the building, stopping when either he was back in the carriage or Megumin stopped singing.

(I am a little tempted to go and listen to her, but this hourglass is more intriguing) Kazuma thought as he snuck inside, getting the last glance of his wife about to sing.

The most surprising part came over Naofumi as he was about to take a lap around the building. First, he didn't think much of it, he had heard his dad listening to plays of his mother singing, but when she started singing he started crying.

(Why am I crying?) Naofumi questioned himself as he listened to the soft singing of his mother. That was right she had sung to him when he felt alone, scared or anxious. She had been there singing him to sleep. Hearing her voice again ripped away from the little doubt he had about them not being his parents. It was without a doubt truly his parents, they had come for him. The feeling of being alone in this world that had gnawed at him faded even further away as he let his tears flow down. He listened attentively as he could feel all his worries disappear. Even if it was just for a little moment, he was at ease. The singing made him feel like the carefree child he once was, it felt good.

A crowd began to gather around Megumin, she was used to a large group of people when she performed, so this little group was nothing. They listened attentively to her sing, but they also watched her in awestruck by her beauty. As more and more people flocked around Megumin to either hear her wonderful singing or just get a glance at her not one of them tried to touch her. The audience was very respectful and kept a reasonable distance, both in respect for the performer and the other spectators. Among some of the newcomers at the end of her first song was a few curious nuns that had come from the building to listen.

Kazuma couldn't get past any of the nuns to reach the hourglass, they were huddled to closely together. However, the moment Megumin had finished her first song and started to sing another some nuns from the outside came in and gestured for others to follow them. This gave Kazuma an opening to get close to the hourglass, but at the rate the nuns were leaving he would soon be alone with it, giving him the perfect opportunity to examine this strange object.

"Come she wonderful." One of the nuns said prodding her sister to tag along.

"I have never heard anything similar before." Another nun said quickly convincing two of her fellow sisters to go outside.

"Hmph, I will go get the pope, this disturbance must be taken care of quickly." An older nun mumbled to herself as she saw everyone else leave before she herself rose. Rather than walking towards Megumin, she walked the opposite way.

(I will have to be quick) Kazuma thought as he went up to the hourglass. He could instantly feel his skills stopped working as he touched the hourglass.

(Lucky all the nuns left before I touched this thing, I think I would be in a lot of trouble otherwise.) he thought as he got a prompt up before his eyes.

**Welcome Hero of **_**ERROR**_**. You have a class upgrade available, would you like to **_**ERROR**_**, UPGRADING CLASS. UPGRADE COMPLETE.**

(WTF just happened, it seems my stats have increased minimally, hmm I see this time in the top right corner now. So I am recognized as a hero, but what will happen when the wave hits?) He pondered this until he heard some hurried walking coming down the halls.

Activating {Lurk} and disappearing into the shadows he got out of eyesight, just before the pope came around the corner with the head nun behind him. They both looked pissed off as they fast-walked down the corridor towards the exit.

"They dare to break to ritual, the young are so easily deceived," the head nun said as she tried to keep up with the pope.

"I will see what this disturbance is, and then I will get rid of it," the pope said as he approached the exit, but when he pushed the door open letting the sound of Megumin's singing in he went silent as he just wanted to listen for a second.

"Sir, hey sir," the head nun said as she nudged the pope, bringing him out of the trance.

"Uh, ah, yes, of course, stopping this nuisance. MAKE WAY FOR THE POPE!" he commanded as he raised his voice catching the attention of all the nuns in front of him, and some civilians. They quickly made way for the pope allowing him a clear line straight for Megumin.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" he commanded as he stood in front of the singing Megumin disrupting her song as she stared back at him with an annoyed look.

"What is the big deal, why are you interrupting me?" Megumin said in an annoyed voice.

"You aren't allowed to disturb the hour of praying by the hourglass, our nuns need silence when this ritual is taking place." The pope said while wearing a resolute face.

"It is fine, her voice is beautiful." One of the nuns said as she butted into the conversation.

"You dumb child!" the head nun yelled as she smacked the nun that spoke up in defense of Megumin. "Haven't you learned that devils can lead you astray, with dirty tricks like this."

The pope saw an opportunity and he took it. "That is right, my divine deduction has deduced that this little girl is nothing more than a devil behind a mask, her mission here is to lead you all astray and bring you into your demise. She might look beautiful, but I can see the fires of hell burning in her eyes." He spoke up with so much conviction in his voice that everyone listening to him believed him as he said it.

Just like that, the crowd of people that had been staring at Megumin in pure bliss and awe of her beauty was now staring daggers at her. Megumin didn't like this, she knew what could happen if a mob of angry fanatics thought she was a threat to their religion.

(Hopefully, they aren't on the level of the crazy Axis cultists.) she thought as she recoiled from all the death stares she received.

"Begone devil or you will be vanquished from existence," the pope said as he raised his arms up in a threatening fashion making Megumin recoil, while.

(This is sure to scare the living shit out of that little brat, while I gain admiration from the public. Win-win.) The pope thought to himself as he saw how both the crowd and girl reacted to him. With that, he turned away from Megumin and gestured for the other nuns to follow him back inside, as he listened to the angry mob starting to berate her.

(Splendid, now the nuns that went outside during the ritual feel ashamed of their actions, while this mob will take care of the little brat.) He thought to himself as he contently walked back inside.

In the meantime Kazuma reappeared in Naofumi's wagon, lightly nudging him as to make him aware of his presence. At first, Naofumi was a little surprised when he turned around to see a man dressed in almost only black clothing with a black and white mask. He almost punched him, before he realized that it could only be his father that had snuck back into the carriage.

"Dad since when did you change outfits?" He questioned as he lowered his fist and returned to look at the road.

"No time for that now, we need to go and pick up your mother. For some reason, I got the feeling she is in trouble." Kazuma ordered.

As the carriage turned around Chomusuke woke up from all the ruckus and clawed herself onto the first thing she could. In this case that was Naofumi. When they got into hearing range of what should have been Megumin singing they instead found themselves listening to Megumin being berated by the crowd. For every second that pasted the crowd got more and more agitated

"Go back to hell where you came from!" A middle-aged man with yellow teeth and bald head yelled as he readied his arm to throw an empty bottle of wine at her.

"Leave this town!" a young girl yelled.

Megumin would gladly have left if they would have given her space to leave, but apparently the crowd that had been keeping their distance before, all wanted to come as close as they could when it came to insulting her. She could have probably forced her way out of this situation, but she was much stronger than these civilians and didn't want to hurt them. She was still a little rusty on when it came to explosion magic, but Kazuma had prohibited the use of it in the city so that was also off the table regardless. There was one option left.

"HELP!" Megumin didn't scream in fear, but more yelled as to both silence the angry mob that surrounded her and to alert Naofumi and/or Kazuma that things hadn't gone as planned.

As the middle-aged man threw his bottle at Megumin it was suddenly intercepted by a green air shield produced by Naofumi. While a potted plant knocked the man out, as it hit him in the back of his head. As the crowd looked around in confusion their eyes landed on Naofumi as he jumped in-between the crowd and his mother. While a young child still tried to look for the person that threw the potted plant at his father, he was not successful in this.

"Why do you protect this devil?!" a younger man yelled at him.

Naofumi took a quick look back at his mother a little confused, did they really mean his mom looked like a devil. "This is no devil!" He retorted as he looked back to the crowd.

"What do you mean she clearly ensnared these young men to her unnatural voice and beauty, she can't be anything else than a devil!" A middle-aged woman screamed out her anger fueled by jealousy, making the crowd nod and murmur in agreement to her.

"I AM ALREADY MARRIED!" Megumin screamed with all her might as she revealed her ring, the little gem on it flaring red just as her eyes did. That statement was incredibly insulting to Megumin, she stared at the woman in pure anger as her arm was raised over her head while she clutched at her black staff.

"HOW DARE YOU THINK, HOW DARE YOU THINK I WOULD BE UNFAITHFUL TO MY HUSBAND!" Megumin yelled as she pointed her black staff at the woman making her recoil in fear.

The crowd that was surrounding Megumin and Naofumi looked on in shock. As thoughts started to roll around in their heads.

"Are you married to the shield hero?" a woman asked out loud without thinking over what she said.

"EWW, NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!" both Megumin and Naofumi yelled out in unison as the thought itself disgusted them to their core. The disgust they displayed was not fake, the crowd could tell that much. It almost looked like they both were about to throw up. One person did throw up in a potted plant, but no one saw that.

"But the pope said he deduced she was evil!" Another person yelled after Naofumi and Megumin had calmed down.

"Yeah he is right, the pope wouldn't lie about something like that!" half the crowd cheered on in agreement.

"_Let us just leave, crazy fanatics is impossible to convince, trust me, I have experience._" Megumin leaned in and whispered to Naofumi as she saw an opening in the crowd they could leave through. Which they promptly did, which the crowd only realized when the little boy looking for his father's assailant pointed it out.

"Hey look they are leaving!" He screamed out as he pointed at them, getting everyone's attention.

"Yeah, get them!" a man said as he raised his loaf of bread threateningly to muster the mob mentality to an attack.

"Didn't the pope order her to be banished?" a female questioned before the mob could muster any courage to attack the shield hero and the "devil" beside him.

"YEAH LEAVE THIS TOWN!" a very familiar male voice rang out, completely shifting the target of attacking the two people before the mob to insulting them out of town.

Naofumi and Megumin quickly seeing the opportunity that the person from the mob had given them ran to the carriage.

"Filo goes for the exit of this town, don't slow down until we are out of sight from this mob." He ordered as he took hold of the reigns, while Megumin sat herself down into the carriage beside the sleeping Chomusuke and some tarps.

"Got it master!" Filo confirmed and she took off at a blazing speed as soon as she saw Megumin had taken a seat. The sounds of the angry crowd quickly fainted away as they traveled down the streets of the city. Giving Filo the opportunity to slow down and take more controlled swings as she dragged the carriage along.

"STOP!" a clearly bruised Motoyasu exclaimed as he once again stood in front of the carriage.

"WHAT NOW?!" Naofumi yelled in clear annoyance.

"I can't let you leave this city before you hand over the antidote!" He said as he took a stance in front of the carriage.

"We just gave it away so leave us alone, and move out of the way."

"I am afraid I can't do that since you also need to apologize to the princess for your behavior," Motoyasu said not budging an inch.

"Well, what do you think is going to happen now?" Naofumi asked the idiot in front of him.

"HYAH!" Motoyasu roared as he spun around and cut the pot flying towards his head cleanly in two, for a split second he felt a sense of accomplishment until he was covered by the regurgitated breakfast of Kazuma. "WTF IS THIS, IT STINKS OH NO, IT'S STILL WARM"

Kazuma quickly followed up his first attack with another potted plant throwing Motoyasu off balance making him slip in the puke. It was ALMOST as they felt sorry for him as they traveled past the now temporarily incapacitated spear hero.

"Now he almost looks as disgusting as that bitch's personality, they will make a perfect couple," Naofumi said out loud, making Filo chuckle.

When they reached the gate they apparently hit a bump in the road, because the carriage shook a little bit as if they passed over something. When they looked back it was just the same manhole cover they had put back after their encounter with Ren. Raphtalia you swear she heard some faint screaming this time, followed by a splash but there wasn't really any reason to investigate that right now.

"Hee-hee x 5, ah that was gold." Kazuma laughed loudly as he appeared in the carriage now again wearing his adventurer outfit. He quickly received a smack in the head from Megumin. "Hey what was that for?"

"You told me that you would watch over me so you deserve it for failing utterly, plus you startled me so I couldn't help it," Megumin said as she sat back down.

"I was investigating the hourglass remember, but thanks to you I was able to see how it works. The nuns surrounded it and without your singing, I wouldn't have been able to get close enough. Apparently I am also a hero" Kazuma explained as he started to pet Chomusuke.

"What kind of hero did it deem you as then," Naofumi asked clearly intrigued at the revelation.

"Well, you see I think it is broken," Kazuma answered while his face grew slightly redder.

"No, no, please tell oh great HeRo what did it say," Megumin said with a big smug grin emerging on her face.

"It has to be broken because there is no other explanation."

"And why is that?" both mother and son asked while wearing the same evil grin, making Kazuma back off a little.

(Yeah, you are definitively mother and son) he thought as he finally relented the answer. "It called me Hero of error, but it said the error like your computer would say if something was wrong with it."

"Oh, so in other words what you are telling me is, "kazuma executable" has stopped working." Naofumi mockingly said as he chuckled to himself, everyone else other than Kazuma didn't get the joke, but he was just wearing a tired expression.

(My son mocks me, I thought this was the one place I could show him the reigns, but here he is just mocking his old man.) Kazuma thought to himself as he slumped over and fell into Megumin's lap face first. "_**I will be taking a nap, I haven't run that much in forever.**_" He said, his words barely audible from Megumin's thighs.

Megumin being used to giving him a lap pillow when he was tired, and feeling tired of today's events herself started to gently caress his hair.

**/2 hours later at the inn in Melromarc **

"My head still hurts," Ren complained as a Tersia tended to his wounds.

"I told you we should have come with you," Tersia said as she put a little bit more pressure on his wound that she perhaps needed to, as a way to get back at him.

"By the way, you still stink of sewage." Welt unnecessarily pointed out to him.

"I know, but I got dumped three times into the sewage just a few hours ago, and apparently three separate washes aren't enough," Ren said in a defeated tone as he sipped his beer.

"It is your own fault for falling in that manhole cover in the first place, didn't Bakta tell you to be more aware of your surroundings," Welt said making himself laugh from pointing that out to Ren.

"Yeah, yeah, can just talk about something else," Ren said as he angrily took a huge sip of his beer.

"Hey I am just trying to lighten up the mood, it isn't my fault you timed coming up so bad" he again laughed while slapping his hand on his leg, while hysterically laughing.

"Yeah, you should have been more heroic like me," Motoyasu said as he stood up with some rags on him since his clothes were drying. He also smelled better than Ren, but he still smelled faintly of puke.

"Watch out potted plant!" Itsuki yelled as he pointed towards the roof.

"WHAT, WHERE!" Motoyasu screamed out in terror as he turned around to see nothing, regaining his composure he turned back around while looking angrily at the bow hero that had just fooled him.

"Yes, that was certainly very "heroic" of you." Itsuki mockingly said as he got laughs from everyone else in the inn.

"Hmph" Motoyasu angrily huffed as he sat back down taking a long good sip of his own beer.

"Itsuki you can't talk much either you got taken out by another archer, and you are supposed to be the bow hero." Ren pointed out.

"Yeah, that was embarrassing." The bow hero somberly said as he also joined the two others in the act of drinking away their problems.

"If he is sneakier than Itsuki, stronger than Ren and smarter than Motoyasu, what kind of person is he?" A girl named Rishia asked. "I wonder if he is a gentleman." As she said those words Kazuma was laying in the carriage, face planted in Megumin's thighs while lightly groping her ass, so maybe not.

**/Meanwhile in Erhard's shop**

"Hmm, so he had to leave the city, well that doesn't matter we will find him regardless." The young leader of the knight/mage group said as he heard the news from Erhard.

"You better be quick about it or else the wave will take him without you," Erhard said with an undertone of encouragement.

"_If you don't mind me asking who is the new guy?_" he asked in a whisper as he pointed over at Suwon that was sweeping the floor.

"Well, he is the new helper around here until he either moves on to another city or wants to take his job further here." Erhard simply said out loud so everyone could hear.

"_Do you trust him?_" he asked as he looked over at the shabby looking dude, that was sweeping the floor with a somber look on his face.

"Yeah, for now at least," Erhard said with a stoic look on his face as he gave thumbs up to Suwon.

"Well, we will be off then." The young leader said as he strapped on the new equipment and their rations for the travel.

"Farewell soldier, farewell," Erhard said as he waved them goodbye.

"Do you really trust me?" Suwon asked, fearing what the true answer might be.

"Shouldn't I?" Erhard asked with a warming smile on his face.

"Well, I mean I am an lv 60 assassin, aren't you afraid of me possibly killing you?" Suwon said as he stared at the floor.

"I have seen that look on many adventurers before when they have lost someone they loved. That more than anything can drastically change how someone live their life, and you young man should learn that people might be stronger than what they look." Erhard said as he pointed his smiting hammer at him gesturing for him to get back to work.

"Well, at least I can get a new start, I just wish my sister could always get the same chance," Suwon said as he looked out the window while continuing to sweep the floor.

"Sometimes that is just life, come on now don't do a half-assed job on the floor," Erhard ordered the young man quickly bringing his thoughts over on only sweeping the floor.

**Well, that was this for this chapter. I hope you liked it even if it took much longer than expected. I have an exam coming up very soon, so I will continue this after February is over. The reviews so far are amazing to read, I have some favorites that I would like to mention.**

**Calderoneric758: **I don't know why, but this story makes me laugh, scream in terror, and wanting to see if Kazuma taught Naofumi about gender equality.

**This one certainly made my day when I first read it.**

**I also loved how this got so much more attention after ****u/foxgir**** made some fantastic fanart and posted it on reddit. That really gave this fanfiction some great traction, the guy who linked the fanfic in the comments even got a silver, so I will just think of it as my own.**

**Have a little Feith: **Man, this chapter was fun to read, no sarcasm intended. I laughed at the plants being chucked at Motoyasu. It came out of nowhere, so it was amusing. Also, is that woman who chucked water at Bi- I mean, Malty Aqua? Because that would be amazing if it was, shows the Godmother is still looking out for her Godson.

**Thank you very much for this one, I loved to read this one. I just took the trope of someone being hit in the head with a potted plant while I was reading some Donald Duck stories. So I felt I had to put it in.**

**Now to the most important comment**

**T-B-R: **The story is a bit rough, but overall I like the idea.

**I would really like to get some tips on how to make it better to read. I hope you don't take this as me hanging you out I just really want to improve, and these comments let me self-reflect. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **


	5. Abilities put to the test

**Our heroes were now out on a journey through the countryside after Megumin got banished from the city. Naofumi had no problems with leaving at the time since he had just resupplied and he had gotten his hands on a good stack of gold coins. It was now 5 days until the next wave would hit, and Kazuma had questioned his son about the first one he had experienced as to know what they could expect. Megumin had gradually begun to regain her explosion technique, while Kazuma had to carry her back to camp. Her score had gone up from 50-points to 80-points over the last days.**

As Megumin and Kazuma got back to camp, Filo dropped what she was doing and ran over to them. Raphtalia was sitting down with Chomusuke by the campfire watching intently, as Naofumi was preparing dinner. Today they were eating rabbit stew, with various vegetables, including cabbage, which Kazuma had cut up in an instant like he thought it would try to escape.

"That was amazing grandma!" she uttered in an excited voice as she started jumping up and down beside her.

"I have been meaning to ask Filo, how did you meet our son?" Megumin asked her pseudo granddaughter.

"Ever since I hatched from my egg, master Naofumi has always been there. He raised me from when I was just a little chicken." Filo excitedly informed her "grandparents".

"Hey! how did you acquire Filo's egg?" Kazuma spoke up catching his son's attention as he looked up from his cooking.

"Well, I bought it from the slave trader that lives in Melromarc. He gave an offer of playing a game of chance, for some silver I could get one egg that could contain pretty much any kind of monster in it." Naofumi informed his parents.

"Ah, a game of chance you say, no wonder you ended up with a great price," Kazuma said with a content smile on his face. (Good to see my son has gotten some of my luck.)

"I also bought Raphtalia from that slave trader, but he still seems very shady to me so I wouldn't trust him further than I could throw him," Naofumi said as he redirected his attention back at the food.

Kazuma went over to the tent he and Megumin shared, still carrying her and put her in there to rest. (I could give her some mana back with {Drain touch}, but she might as well just rest until dinner.) He thought as he exited their tent.

"Uhm, Kazuma I have seen your covert skills over the past few days, and I became curious as to how you became so stealthy," Raphtalia said as Kazuma sat down by the fireplace.

"Why are you curious Raphtalia?" He questioned the demi-human in front of him.

"You see I have also mastered some skills that are supposed to make me stealthier, but I would like to get your aspect on how I might improve, since you seem to have more battle experience than me," Raphtalia informed Kazuma.

"Yeah, we could do some stealth training." He said as he heard his belly rumble "But let us do that after we have eaten."

"Great, then after dinner, we will train," Raphtalia said as she clapped her hands together in joy, which Chomusuke took as an opportunity to jump into Kazuma's lap.

**/2hours later**

Kazuma and Raphtalia had gone away from camp to train, they now stood in a mostly open grass field with a big oak tree 50 meters away from them. They were both wearing their own respective adventurer equipment.

"Ok, Raphtalia as a test to see if I can really be of any help to you, I want you to try and knock me in the head. You may use any tricks or abilities you have at your disposal. I will do my best to counter you." Kazuma informed her as he drew his newly acquired blade.

"Understood, so when can I start?" Raphtalia questioned.

"You may start whenever you like." Kazuma retorted.

"Ok, then I will start on the count of three. One" Raphtalia cheerily informed, one could almost wonder why she would inform her opponent of her attack.

"_Hmm, interesting,_" Kazuma muttered to himself

"Two" Raphtalia seemingly stretched to the right before she got into a combat pose.

"_This will be fun for sure,_" Kazuma silently said to himself.

"THREE!" Raphtalia yelled as she appeared behind Kazuma and her decoy disappeared, but as she was about to hit Kazuma in the head she instead swung her sword through him like he was made of air.

"Wait what?" Raphtalia looked on in confusion as she looked on the mirage Kazuma had set in his place, disappear.

"Commendable effort, I am sure it could have worked on a more honorable opponent than myself, it is good to see you really took my "everything goes" statement to heart," Kazuma said as he appeared 15 meters away from the confused raccoon girl.

"When did you create this illusion?" Raphtalia asked curiously as she hadn't even noticed the creation of it, or Kazuma sneaking away.

"Oh, I created that one when we first left camp and then I snuck beside you, I am a little disappointed you didn't even notice. You still have much to learn about being sneaky." Kazuma uttered as he looked a little dejected.

"May I try again?" Raphtalia asked, seeing this as a good challenge for herself.

"Yes, of course, and this time I promise to only deflect your blows, so the target you see in front of you is indeed the real me," Kazuma said as he got into a fighting stance.

(Hmm, so he tricked me the first time, but will he be able to see me if I use {Hide mirage}) Raphtalia thought to herself as she got into her own stance. She then hid with {Hide mirage} and started to sneak up on Kazuma.

"Hmm, interesting" Kazuma said aloud as he witnessed Raphtalia suddenly disappearing from view.

As Raphtalia came up behind Kazuma she was about to strike, when Kazuma suddenly turned around and looked straight at her, like she wasn't invisible at all. Raphtalia instinctively jumped to the right in response to see if he could track her movement, but his eyes didn't follow her.

(So, he couldn't see me after all) she thought as she went in for a strike, only for it to be instantly deflected by Kazuma. In the same motion as he deflected her blade with his own he twisted his blade around quickly forcing her own sword out of her hand. Making it land a few feet away. Then Kazuma stepped forward and bopped her on the head.

"And you are dead!" Kazuma declared rather matter of factly as he flashed her a little smile.

"How did you keep track of me? I was invisible…" she managed to utter as she looked at Kazuma in both shock and astonishment.

"You might be invisible, but I can still see the grass you step on, so it was quite simple to know where you would come from" Kazuma informed her, as he went to pick up her sword.

"But the parry you did, how did you know when I would strike?" Raphtalia questioned as she listened intently.

"The grass started to rise back up when you went in for the attack, and then I swung in such a way that would block all possible routes for my head," Kazuma explained as he picked up her sword.

"Ok, I have seen your offensive abilities now, but what about defending against a sneak attack, would you like to try that?" He asked as he handed her sword back to her, which she took ahold of immediately.

"Of course I want to try that," she said excitedly as she got into a defensive stance

Kazuma went back a few steps before he turned around and looked back at his opponent. "If I disarm you, or hit you in the head I have won, but if you manage to block just one of my attacks then you have won. Do you accept those terms?" Kazuma said as he drew his own sword.

"That sounds good to me," she retorted as she started to think of how she would counter Kazuma's attacks.

"Ok then, {STEAL}!" Kazuma yelled as he stretched out his hand and made a grabbing motion which made his hand give off a blue light when the light disappeared he was holding her sword.

Raphtalia looked on in shock as her sword was gone from her hand, but how. How could he have possibly been able to get her sword that quickly? Had she really lost that quickly to him, as she was about to relent and accept her defeat Kazuma spoke up as he saw her expression.

"Do you really have no other weapons than your sword, are you defenseless the moment you lose your sword?" Kazuma asked rhetorically, instantly changing Raphtalia's facial expression.

Of course, she had other means of defense, she had magic and she could use the environment to her advantage, like Kazuma had done in the city with all those potted plants, only using his arrows when it was absolutely necessary.

"So what is the verdict? Have you been disarmed and admit defeat?" Kazuma asked already knowing the answer from her facial expression.

"No! I can still counter your attacks," Raphtalia said confidently as she again got ready for battle.

"Very well then, let us see if you have learned anything {Concealment}!" Kazuma instantly vanished from sight, but this time Raphtalia knew what to look for as she stared at the ground looking for grass that bent over. After half a second she noticed the pattern, (When you first notice it, it is really obvious. No wonder he could predict my movements.) she thought as she followed Kazuma running pattern with ease

(Great she is noticing me, then let us take the difficulty up a notch) Kazuma thought as he brought forward a bag filled to the brim with rocks, he threw them all out of his bag flattening a huge area of grass making it impossible to see any changes in the grass as he started to run on the rocks instead.

Raphtalia was shocked when she saw all the rocks appearing from the previous spot Kazuma stood, for then to flatten a huge area of grass around her. This essentially made him invisible to her. Now it would be impossible for her to predict his route of attack. She looked frantically around for a possible way Kazuma would attack before she got the great idea of turning invisible herself and using the rocks just as Kazuma did to her advantage.

(Great she knows how to improvise) Kazuma thought as he saw her use his stones to her advantage. In theory, she should be invisible, but Kazuma had also put in some stones that had an unbalanced shape so they would wobble if someone stepped on it. Kazuma had essentially put out a minefield for Raphtalia.

(I can't see him, but how can I make him mess up?) Raphtalia thought as she gently danced around on the rocks, but she had already given away her position when she stepped on one of the wobbly rocks. Kazuma was currently tracking her movements, from when she would jump from the wobbly rocks to the solid ones.

(If you mess up even once in this, you will lose unless your enemy loses track of you.) Kazuma thought as he got up behind Raphtalia, always staying behind her.

(Hmm, this is at a standstill, I can't see him anywhere) she thought still oblivious to the fact that Kazuma was just toying with her, and she had already lost.

Kazuma still wanted to see if she could come up with some trick that could give her an advantage, this was a battle after all. The best ability to train for battles was the ability to improvise. One could only learn that if you pushed yourself to think outside the boxes and constrictions the enemy or you yourself set for the battle.

(I could use my illusion magic to surprise him, but what should I… A STONE.) Raphtalia realized as she quickly snatched up a stone. Using {illusion} she threw the stone to her side as she simultaneously created a dozen fake stones that all went in different directions. This was meant to both obscure where the real stone came from as to not give away her position, and force the enemy to make a mistake.

(I have seen enough, for now, we can work on this for now) he thought as he swung his sheathed sword to smack her in the back of her head.

"Ouch!" Raphtalia yelped out as she felt the smack signifying her defeat.

"You want to know where you went wrong, or have you figured it out already?" Kazuma asked the person in front of him that was currently rubbing her head.

"Sigh, was it when I picked up the rock?" Raphtalia said as deep disappointment showed in her voice.

"No, but good guess. A less experienced fighter would probably have seen that. Want to guess again or should I give you the answer?" Kazuma asked with a smug undertone.

"You are my enemy right, so I have to either figure it out myself or keep losing." She responded to his clearly rhetorical question, which Kazuma instantly nodded in agreement with.

"I will be nicer than an enemy would though, I will tell you if you are correct or not." He quickly retorted as he handed her sword back.

At this Raphtalia quickly went over the stones that she had been dancing on, first looking for footprints. When she didn't find that she started to examine the stones closer, she pushed down a few to see what would happen, then she came upon an unbalanced stone that shifted a little when she pushed it down. She instantly understood her mistake as she looked back at her teacher.

"You have put in unbalanced stone that shifts slightly when you step on them with others that wouldn't so that you knew how to navigate while I wouldn't." She confidently declared as she pointed at the stones she had just inspected.

"Very good!" He energetically responded as he saw how fast she learned.

He had tried to learn both his sons some martial arts, so they could protect themselves. That had however gone rather poorly, Naofumi didn't care for it all that much, while his youngest found it as another stress element from his parents. Luckily Naofumi did help his brother to find a way to chill before he went, full delinquent.

Some hours passed as Kazuma and Raphtalia perfected their covert skills. The training was very inventive and always changed up as Raphtalia tried her best to outsmart her teacher. It was an incredibly taxing and tiresome way to train for Raphtalia both mentally and physically. At the end of the training, one could see Raphtalia laying by the big oak tree visibly panting, while Kazuma was chugging water.

"Hey dad and Raphtalia, you should get back to camp we got a tight schedule!" Naofumi yelled as he wore a look of urgency.

"Don't you want to see how stealthy she is right now?" Kazuma asked as he was trying to sell something to Naofumi.

"I guess that wouldn't hurt, show me,"

"Hey, Raphtalia try to hit Naofumi in the head, while he tries to block you. If you can do that we are done for today." Kazuma said.

"Are you ok with this master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked as she got up from the oak tree.

"Yes, go ahead, I will even let you wish for one thing from me if you can do it in less than a minute," Naofumi said as he thought a reward for his daughter, would be a great way to boost her morale.

"Really?" Raphtalia asked as her eyes went wide from excitement. She instantly knew what she wanted Naofumi to do for her if she won.

"Yes, really," Naofumi confirmed as he got into a battle stance.

"Ok then, I will signal for when the battle will start," Kazuma said as he raised his arm.

Raphtalia created an illusion of herself as she simultaneously went invisible with the help of her {Hide mirage}. Naofumi didn't seem to notice Raphtalia doing this since he had looked over at Kazuma for a split second. The stones that lay around on the ground was the perfect way for her to sneak up on Naofumi, but she still needed to use a lot of concentration to maintain her illusion.

"Ready?" both Naofumi and the fake Raphtalia nodded, "set!" Naofumi stared directly at Raphtalia's illusion as she got behind him "GO!" Faketalia jumped towards Naofumi drawing all his attention as he prepared for a strike from his front. The moment Naofumi went to block away from her illusion she moved in from behind and put her hand on his head. It was all over in less than a second.

"Bravo, Raphtalia wins!" Kazuma proudly declared as he started to walk back to camp, flashing his son a smug grin.

Naofumi remembering how his father tried to teach him to fight with his "Martial arts", grew angry at his father when he saw how Raphtalia had been taught to fight. It wasn't fun to train with Kazuma because he would use any trick to win. Kazuma had skipped all the "honorable" ways to fight. He did, however, remember that this wasn't like the annoying "fights" they would have in the past this, now it was a question of survival. Raphtalia tapped him on the head to catch his attention as he angrily looked at his smug father walk back to camp.

"Master Naofumi," she said in a similar manner to a child wanting attention from her parent.

"Ah yes, what is it Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked in confusion as he looked back at her.

"My wish, I want you to give me a piggyback ride back to camp," Raphtalia informed him as he looked back at her, with her pupils dilated to the maximum capacity, and her mouth opened wide as drool came out. She looked like a child that had entered a candy store and was told she could eat as much as she wanted, from Naofumi's point of view.

"Well," he sighed as he got into position for her to climb up "A promise is a promise I guess."

(I am so going to get back at dad for this later on.) he thought to himself.

Raphtalia quickly jumped on his back as she burrowed her face into his neck relishing in her reward. The moment Filo saw that Raphtalia was given a piggyback ride by Naofumi, she grew extremely envious of her.

"I can take the first watch tonight," Naofumi said as he ate the last of the supper before everyone else went to bed.

"Yeah, and Kazuma can take the second watch," Megumin proudly declared for her husband as she went to bed.

"Hey, I never…" Kazuma tried to protest, but as he looked into the tent where he saw his wife giving him "that" look, he instantly changed his tone, "I will gladly take the second watch!" he declared as he quickly entered the tent to be with Megumin.

(Most of the time they just act like an old married couple, but now they suddenly act as if they are lovesick newlyweds.) Naofumi thought as he masterly got as far away from the **incoming lemon,** I mean his parents' tent as possible.

Inside the tent, things started to get heated. As soon as Kazuma understood Naofumi was out of the earshot he looked back at Megumin. In the dimly lit tent, he could clearly see her crimson red eyes shine. He went over to her as he took a firm hold on her shoulders. In response, Megumin wrapped her slender arms around his neck. They just sat there for a minute staring into each other's eyes.

"Do you really want a daughter?" Megumin asked in a meek tone as she leaned in closer to Kazuma, still staring into his green eyes. It reminded her of the green grass on the field, where she had used her explosion magic in front of Kazuma for the first time.

Kazuma responded by pushing Megumin down on the futon, as he let his left-hand brush through her raven black hair, as he held the gaze with his wife. He was now on top of her, their faces were mere inches apart. The tent was so silent the only thing one could hear was heavy breathing and two beating hearts. Kazuma slowly lowered his lips towards Megumin's as he simultaneously pulled her head up to his. When their lips were no more than a hair's breadth apart, Megumin quickly pulled him into a deep kiss. Her tongue playfully wrestled with Kazuma's as he tried to push her head closer with his left hand, while his right hand wandered up her left leg.

"Hah, hah, we are really, hah, going to do it." Megumin managed to say while panting heavily as they broke their passionate kiss.

"Yeahhh!" Kazuma quickly retorted with a breathy voice as he pulled Megumin into another deep kiss, this time pushing her head deep into the pillow bellow. As he used {Steal} with his right hand to quickly and effortlessly remove her black panties. He quickly dropped her panties to the side as his right hand again traveled up her left leg. His right hand then started warming her up, making her lightly moan.

Megumin then easily removed his pants with her feet, revealing "Excalibur" as she had named it so long ago. When the port was properly prepared, Kazuma started the "docking" process. To ensure the crew would get safely to harbor, Megumin locked her legs around Kazuma. She gave Kazuma some room to swing "Excalibur" inside her, but took extra care in keeping the "ship" in "harbor".

Kazuma had been in this cave many times before, so he knew exactly what challenges he needed to overcum. He had just passed the area were a flower he plucked once used to be, about 21 years ago. "Excalibur" would be swung past this spot many times this night, to great pleasure for both Megumin and its wielder.

The air in the tent started to get damp from all the heavy breathing and sweat that they managed to procure together. Megumin's moans were silenced by the deep kisses Kazuma pulled her into. She tightened her legs around Kazuma and made sure to hold him close as "the crew" left the "ship" and went into "the harbor".

Kazuma still holding Megumin tight rolled over on her right side, as he pulled out "Excalibur". Megumin was still shaking slightly from pleasure and panting heavily as she rested her head on Kazuma's chest. Kazuma in response lightly rested his chin on top of her head, as he simultaneously wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. He then let his right hand rest on her butt cheek, covering up her barcode birthmark.

"_Nice explosion_," Megumin lightly whispered to him, before she fell asleep on Kazuma's chest as she listened to his heartbeat slowing down to match her own rhythm.

After a minute of relaxing with Megumin resting on him, Kazuma also fell asleep. It had been a while since the last time they had such an intimate night together. Far too long.

**/Meanwhile in Melromarc, in the pope's study**

"So, we will have to delay our plans sir until after the wave." A robed man informed the man sitting in the pope's chair, Biscas T. Balmus.

"It is fine, patience is a virtue our Lord loves. Now then have you found out any more information about that little brat that appeared 5 days ago?" The pope questioned his subordinate.

"Sir, not that much, but a vendor told us she seduced him into buying her almost worthless orange balloon hides for, get this, 20 gold coins." The robed man said doing his best to not laugh from what he read.

"Anything more interesting than that?" The pope asked, not amused by some vendor getting ripped off.

"The vendor did also tell us he saw the shield hero with her, but that he didn't see much after that, because he quickly closed the store when he saw the shield hero approach him." The robed man quickly read from the report.

"Hmm, yes that would make sense since he protected her from the angry mob that would make sense." The pope confirmed gesturing for the man to go on to the next eye witness.

(That little brat could probably not even break a twig if she tried.) He thought to himself, which made him smile.

"A young man reported that the she-devil was seen kissing the shield hero in an alleyway." The robed man informed.

"Hmm, that is weird, when we questioned the mob they said that both the shield hero and the little brat looked disgusted when someone mentioned that possibility. This is interesting." The pope said with an evil grin emerging on his face, that was covered by his hands.

"How so sir?" the robed man asked clearly intrigued.

"Either, the shield hero is hiding an affair with this devil, or there is someone that looks like him with them. The ladder would explain how our assassination attempt failed, how the shield hero so seamlessly escaped from the other heroes, and lastly how the hourglass was activated 5 days ago." The pope explained to his subordinate, in a calm voice matching his holy façade.

"I see you are truly bestowed by the greatest of minds sir, there is no wonder why our Lord has chosen you as his spokesman." The robed man praised the very much (UN)holy person before him.

"Leave now, we will hold onto this information for now as the lords wills it." A monst… the pope ordered the man in front of him.

"Yes, sir." He said as he quickly left the room.

"Everything will go according to the Lord's plan," The pope said to himself as he sat up and went over to a closet unveiling a golden spear. When he picked it up he it changed into a golden sword. "Show me who will truly win in the end," he commanded as it changed into a golden bow, then a sword and lastly a spear. Content with this he quickly put it back in the closet as he closed the doors. The moment the doors of the closet closed the golden spear changed into a golden shield.

**/Meanwhile in another camp**

"Are you sure we will catch up to the shield hero in time Ake?" a male mage asked as he was about to go to bed.

"I am sure we will," Ake said reassuringly as he gave his comrade a warm smile.

**/Back in Naofumi's camp, 4hours later**

Kazuma had just taken over guard duty. He was idly poking the fire with his sword when a girl with silver hair in a purple nuns habit emerged from the woods. Her silver hair shone brightly in the moonlight, seemingly giving off a divine aura. If someone else had been sitting by the fire when she revealed herself, they would either be stunned by her beauty or be on guard. However, it was Kazuma that sat there, and he quickly recognized his old friend.

"Hey Eris, how are you holding up?" he asked politely as he kept poking the fire.

"I am doing ok, I guess," Eris said as she sat down next to her friend.

"How are my children holding up?" he asked as he stopped poking the fire and gave his full attention to the goddess of luck beside him.

"Well, as for your youngest son he is doing just fine. He is getting good grades, while he just recently got himself a boyfriend?" Eris informed as she looked to see how Kazuma would react to the news. To her great surprise, he just chuckled and smiled when he heard that.

"Does he keep that relationship secret or how is it, is he finally open about it?" Kazuma asked as he knew about his son being gay for quite some time, choosing not to intrude before he was ready.

"I am afraid he still keeps it secret when it comes to his IRL friends, but he talks to other people about it online when he is playing his games, so he has an outlet at the very least," Eris said as she gave Kazuma a comforting smile.

"Ok, well that is good." He said as a looked back at Naofumi's tent. (Why didn't I think of gaming.) He thought as he silently praised his son.

"As for your and Lalatina's children, your son still resents you for never being there, while your daughter still glorifies your deeds." Eris interrupted his thoughts as she told him about the children he had never met.

"Status quo, in other words." He said with a little scorn showing in his voice.

"Lalatina is still the queen of Belzberg, even after the death of King Jatis a month ago from a dynamite accident," Eris said as she felt for her longtime friend's loss.

"I warned her that if she raped me, I would leave Belzberg." Kazuma quickly said before he got smacked across the face by Eris.

"You didn't do anything to try and stop her other than telling her no, so don't you give me that bullshit!" Eris angrily said as she could feel her hand lightly throb from the smack she had just given the man next to her.

"I didn't fight back, because any pain I would have inflicted on her would just have made her more excited. I thought that doing nothing other than saying no, would make her back off. Also, I don't think she has any problems with being neglected, hell she is definitively getting off to it." He argued as he rubbed his throbbing cheek.

"Yeah, but still it was cruel to leave your own children behind, they have never been seen by their father, they won't inherit any throne as they aren't of royal blood," Eris said with anger still present in her voice.

"They are deemed nobles are they not?" Kazuma asked rhetorically, as he looked away from Eris.

"Yeah, they are in the house of Satou, and they don't have any financial problems…"

"Exactly the twins are doing just fine!" Kazuma quickly cut her off, he could live better with himself if he knew they were well off.

"They are not doing just fine, even if they have all of that, they still need to see their father. You know, you truly live up to your nickname when it comes to being a father, **SCUMZUMA**" Eris said, her voice filled with disdain.

"You say that, but didn't you also have sex with me. Knowing full well that I was in a relationship with Megumin at the time." Kazuma pointed out as he scowled at the goddess next to him.

She angrily stared back at Kazuma that gave her such a judging look, this filled her with immense anger. She smacked him across the face with so much power that he flew off the log he was sitting on and landed painfully on his back half a meter away.

"How dare you, how fucking dare you, be so arrogant towards me about that! You are just as much to blame for that yourself, I didn't force myself on you, and it was in the heat of the moment kind of thing. I still regret doing it, but I can't rewind time. That is not my domain after all!" Eris almost shouted at him, **luckily** no one woke up from all the sound she made.

"Well tell me then, how is my daughter doing after she was kicked out of heaven for being a demigod? Is it the same thing as always then, blaming me because she gets her memory wiped every year? Blaming me because you can't do anything to help her? Blaming me about the divine punishment you received, or are you finally going to blame the god and goddesses that decided to dish out such an unreasonable punishment?" Kazuma asked rhetorically as he got himself up, brushing off some dirt. He might have sounded harsh, but his voice also carried a sense of despair.

Eris calmed down as Kazuma went on his little rant. "The divine punishment also extends to you Kazuma, so you can't do anything either, even if you wanted to." She said in a comforting tone as she saw that it actually hurt Kazuma to say those things. She felt like he was berating himself more with those questions than he was her.

"Well, how is my daughter doing?" He quickly asked as he again looked away from Eris. He clearly didn't expect her to be comforting him, it was easier to deal with her when she was angry at him. He also couldn't look her in the eyes, if she has just more bad news about his youngest daughter.

"As for **our **daughter, she has **finally** gotten into a stable relationship, or somewhat stable," Eris said, her voice loaded with relief, as a tear emerged from her eye. She quickly pulled out a heart-shaped locket, and let hear teardrop into the locket. The lock itself was blue but started giving off a dim silver light after Eris put her tear of joy in it.

"What kind of relationship?" Kazuma asked as he looked back at Eris, this clearly intrigued him. The good news about his daughter was an unexpected delight.

"One where her memory isn't erased every year, she cares a lot about him, she even confessed her love for him." She informed him with a warm smile, she looked really happy about being able to tell Kazuma about this great development. The usual routine would be that she told him about how another guardian, just wiped her memory without checking if what the church told them was true. It was just as aggravating every time it happened.

"So she has a boyfriend now?" Kazuma asked as he moved closer to the goddess that finally brought some good news.

"No, unfortunately in the effort of helping her remove the curse that stupid church had put on her, he lost his own memories in the scuffle that occurred." Eris sadly informed Kazuma.

"Wait, that doesn't sound very…"

"Lucky? Yeah, but that is not because of the divine punishment. This guy just naturally wards off everything supernatural, whatever it is. Both curses and blessings don't work on him, trust me I have tried to bless him, to make his life easier." Eris said in a tired voice.

"How does his ability work?" He asked curiously.

"Everything supernatural that touches his right-hand gets nullified," Eris said as she lifted her right hand, as to better explain the situation at **hand**. "It is similar to how your and Aqua's luck cancel each other out when you are in close proximity to each other but goes back to normal when you get away from each other. The only difference is he needs physical contact with the supernatural element to nullify it."

"How is this guy she is with? He sounds smarter than all the other people that were supposed to "protect" her," Kazuma asked now extremely intrigued about this man, that broke the evil cycle she went through every year.

"He is very much like you, just more virtuous and not as scummy," Eris stated in a tone that carried both praise and spite.

"Hmm, if he keeps her safe there shouldn't be many problems," Kazuma said as he went back to the log to sit back down next to Eris since he no longer picked up any hostile intent from Eris.

"Then over on another note, any questions about the world you are in now?" She asked as her time started to run out, and there were more pressing matters they were supposed to discuss.

"What causes these waves Naofumi talks about?" Kazuma asked as he adopted a serious expression.

"You won't like what I am about to tell you," Eris said with some reluctance showing in her voice.

"Why not?" He asked inquisitively.

"You remember the devil king's daughter, right?" She asked as she lowered her head.

"Yes, I remember that bitch, wait are you telling me she is behind this. I definitively killed her, not even resurrection could save her afterward." Kazuma angrily informed her as he shuddered at the thought of her still being alive.

"The thing is Kazuma, you did kill her, trust me this isn't your fault in any way. It is just that the "Gods of judgment" deemed her life to be so unfortunate that she would be granted the rank of a goddess." Eris informed him.

"Tell me how her life was UNFORTUNATE, how the fuck was her life UNFORTUNATE!? She was worse than the devil king himself." Kazuma was furious, as he questioned how this monster could get pity from the gods.

"She told them about how she was born into the devil king army and never received any love, and then later in life when she first fell in love she was tricked by him, and then later brutally murdered by the same man, twice," Eris said as she twiddled her thumbs and directed her gaze towards Kazuma. Silently saying "**You.**"

"So, you are telling me." Kazuma said in an unnaturally calm voice, "THAT THESE FUCKING STUPID GODS CAN BE THAT EASILY BE MANIPULATED, BY A FUCKING GENERIC SOB STORY!" Kazuma yelled as hard as he possibly could manage, fueled by unrivaled anger. By some miracle no one woke up, maybe a goddess was nearby.

"Calm down!" She said in a commanding tone making him stop speaking, but she could still see him brimming with anger. "Yes, "The Gods of judgment" needs to do an assessment of a person when they have been affiliated with a demon king. They need to see if it was by unfortunate circumstances or willful intention. So even Medea was entitled to that trial." Eris explained.

"She w-was g-g-going t-to **kill** Megumin in that way, she told me in g-great detail what she would do to her, s-so I could n-never see her again. I just made sure, she got that treatment **FIRST**! She deserved divine punishment, she did not deserve to become a goddess. That fucking yandere bitch." Kazuma stuttered as he struggled to hold back his rage.

Kazuma looked back at the tent where his wife was sleeping, making him calm down. "Why, is she causing these waves?" He asked as he kept his gaze on the tent.

"A goddess or god can gain more power and less dilution of their powers, if they merge worlds they watch over, together. That is why most gods/goddesses don't have more than one world they have control over, to avoid them abusing their powers and merging them together." Eris continued as she could feel her heartbeat increase.

"How did she end up with control over more than one world then?" Kazuma asked with a judging tone.

"She obliterated the god that was supposed to take care of this world and forced it to merge with her domain. This is the 8th world she will merge if she is successful." Eris said as she facepalmed. "I even warned them about her manipulative tricks, but "The Gods of judgment" are unfortunately not omniscient. Something they need to get through their miraculously thick skulls." Eris said in a frustrated tone as she stared at the fire.

"Stop her now then she killed multiple gods, after all, doesn't that warrant any punishment?" Kazuma asked in a frustrated tone.

"You see the thing is, there are two ways to kill a goddess/god you have to either be more powerful than them, or you need to be a god killer. The problem now is that she is too strong for any of the other gods to do anything about her by themselves, and everyone is afraid of contacting a god killer since that would mean putting their own existence in peril." Eris explained as her voice carried a tone of despair.

"Why aren't you contacting a god killer then, or are you also afraid of being killed by him? HELL, why aren't the gods working together to take her down?" Kazuma asked extremely frustrated by the cowardice these supposed gods now showed.

"I don't know where to find a god killer, the gods that know won't tell since that could put themselves in danger. Everyone are paranoid about god killers, or how another god could possibly manipulate one to take down another god. So no, I am not afraid of risking my own existence for my friends." Eris looked up from the fire and stared at him, clearly, that statement had offended her.

"And the gods aren't working together about taking her down, because that would either mean leaving control of their world to other gods or working together with gods they don't like," Eris answered his second question, as she started to pull on her own hair in frustration.

"Absolutely wonderful, heaven is filled with a bunch of over-powered and spoiled children, and the ones that want to help can't, because of that would mean possibly causing the same problem to their own domain," Kazuma said as Eris nodded in agreement, which caused him to also pull on his own hair in frustration.

"Will you tell Megumin and Naofumi about Medea?" She asked.

"I don't know if I should tell it to Megumin, as she could become too unpredictable when she gets emotional. Naofumi, on the other hand, should probably be informed about this, I just need to find a moment where we can be alone with him, and have a father to son talk." Kazuma thought out loud, while Eris nodded in agreement.

"That would probably be wise, but make sure the "heroes" you meet along the way don't die. Restrain them, knock them out or threaten them, just DON'T KILL THEM." Eris said with as much urgency as she could muster.

"Hmm, yeah at the very least they could be used as a distraction if I ever meet that bitch again." Kazuma jokingly said, as his face twisted with disdain at the end.

"Well, I must leave now, here take this and make sure to use it wisely. Oh yeah, and don't die, again." Eris said as she got up and handed him the heart-shaped locket containing her "tear of joy". She then walked into the forest, for then to promptly vanish in a flash of silver.

The next four days went by really quickly as they had adopted a new routine. In the middle of the day, Kazuma and Megumin would go for their daily explosion. Then after dinner, Kazuma and Raphtalia would go to do some battle training. The training was supposedly so taxing that Naofumi had to carry Raphtalia back to camp after each and every training session since Kazuma could barely get himself back to camp. Raphtalia loved this new routine, while Filo got envious of it. She couldn't complain too much though since Megumin gave her so much attention and pampered her every day. Chomusuke found it super relaxing to sleep in Filo's fluffy feathers, so when Kazuma wasn't around she found herself there most of the time.

Due to this new routine Ake and his squad was able to catch up to them, on the last day before the wave was about to start. Kazuma used his thief outfit while the Ake squad was around, to hide his face so there was less to no chance for them figuring out he was Naofumi's father. Megumin was very happy to see him wear it, as she thought it made him look really cool and mysterious. Something she found as a major turn on.

"Ok are everyone ready for this, we don't know exactly what we will be facing, but it won't exactly be easy or, some dance on roses," Naofumi informed the Ake squad as the clock started to tick towards zero.

"Yes! We are ready!" they quickly responded in unison, as they drew their own respective weapon, and got into formation.

Naofumi looked over at Raphtalia and Filo, which gave him reaffirming nods, and got prepared themselves for battle.

Then for some weird reason, Kazuma and Megumin didn't seem to care that much or take it too seriously. The only thing Kazuma insisted on telling Megumin in a serious tone over and over again was, "Don't use your explosion on the first enemy we meet."

The clock ticked down, 10, 9, 8, Kazuma told Megumin to not use her attack before he said so, which she kind of listened to. 3, 2, 1 and off they went. When they first regained their vision they were standing in a village, the sky blood red with some rainbow wormholes scattered around on the sky.

"Look over there!" Ake yelled as he pointed at a group of 20 earth golems, all 10 meters tall and 7 meters wide. Around them flew oversized wasps with eyes shining red, and in the front was an army of undead in various sizes. Ranging from as big as a normal human, to a small giant.

"**EXPLOSION!**" Megumin instantly yelled, totally ignoring what Kazuma had JUST told her, as the explosion roared up totally annihilating the army in front of them, and in usual Megumin fashion, she collapsed face-first into the ground after casting it.

"UGH!" was the only sound Kazuma was able to utter out as he walked over to his wife's side and picked her up. (Why couldn't she just listen to me, for once) Kazuma thought as he let his wife rest on his back. He couldn't help but facepalm over how trigger happy she was. When he turned back to look at the other people that just witnessed the explosion, they wore a mixed expression of both fear and astonishment.

"Amazing!" Filo instantly yelled out as she saw the massive crater Megumin had left behind.

"_So how many points is that Kazuma?_" Megumin whispered into his as he carried her back to the group.

"The nerve on you, first you do the one thing I told you not too, and then you dare to ask for a score!" Kazuma angrily yelled as he turned his head around, to see his wife brandishing a content smile on her face.

"_Come on just give it a score._" Megumin prodded as she didn't understand how angry he was since his face was obscured by the mask given to him by Vanir.

"Do you think I will relent if you just give me a cute smile?" Kazuma asked as he stared at her face.

"_Yes,_" Megumin whispered as she flashed him a bright smile and winked at him.

"You damn right, that was certainly 90 points, but I am still mad at you for not listening to me." He said with subdued anger showing in his voice, Megumin didn't really listen after she had gotten her score, she just nodded in agreement.

"Well, she is going to be out for the rest of the battle," Kazuma informed the shocked Ake squad, bringing them out of their trance/shock.

Naofumi gave the explosion a passing glance as he looked back to the village, there he saw an old woman standing by herself as some monsters approached her from behind. He was about to yell out to warn her when she turned around and did a backflip and drove her feet into one of the monster's skull killing it instantly. She then jumped from that monster and spun around in the air as she kicked the head clean off another monster. After she had taken care of the monsters, she spotted Naofumi

"Ah, shield hero good to see you again." She said as Naofumi remembered where he had seen this woman before. He had given her some medicine sometime back when she was sick, after the request of her son.

"How did you do that?" Naofumi questioned the old woman before him.

"I might be old, but my level is as high as my age. The medicine you got me really helped me out though, so I am thankful for that." She said, her voice filled with appreciation.

Then suddenly a flying ship appeared in the sky. It gave off an undead aura Kazuma was far too familiar with, Aqua tended to attract undead all the time, so he came to instinctively recognize the aura of an undead. Kazuma wandered over to the old lady, with Megumin basically napping on his back.

"Can you take care of her for the time being, while we go up on that ship over there?" Kazuma asked as he gestured his head in the direction of the flying ship.

"Certainly, she handily destroyed most of the incoming enemies so that won't be a problem, but may I ask who are you?" The old lady asked, intrigued by the masked man before her.

"I would first like to know who you are before I tell you anything about who I am." Kazuma quickly retorted with, in an attempt to make her back off.

"My name is Elrasla Grilaroc, a former adventurer lv.95, which incidentally also is my current age. I see you are hiding your level, while this young lady is level…" Elrasla stopped speaking as she rubbed her eyes and took another look.

"How is that even possible?" She asked in pure shock. "How is she lv.400, I thought one couldn't go past lv.100?" Elrasla explained as she walked around Kazuma and Megumin, studying her intently.

(Hmm, the level cap is 100, that could explain why the hourglass saw me as an error. So I and Megumin are game-breaking elements, that is good to know.) He thought to himself as Elrasla stopped in front of him and gestured him to bring Megumin inside her house.

"Put her down on the bed over there," Elrasla said as she pointed to a worn-down bed in the corner of the room. Kazuma put her down on the bed as quickly as he could before he tried to leave, but Megumin still held a solid grip on his arm.

"What is it, we have a time pinch?" Kazuma asked in a hurried tone as he looked back at Megumin, in response she just drew him closer to her before she leaned in next to his ear.

"_Don't get yourself killed, again._" She whispered to him in a commanding tone, squeezing his arm to force a quick answer.

"I will do my best," he quickly retorted with, which made Megumin finally let go of him, as she leaned back to rest in the bed provided to her.

Kazuma quickly left through the door, while Elrasla that witnessed the whole exchange between them went over to the now sleeping Megumin. She took a closer look at her, this level 400 archwizard laying before her was very interesting. It wasn't every day she saw something new, or to put it in another way blew her mind.

(There are a lot of baffling things about you and that mysterious man, but I can tell you love each other, that much is obvious to an old lady like me.) Elrasla thought as she remembered back to her young days.

"Ok, so what is the situation right now?" Kazuma asked in a distorted voice as he came out of the house.

"Ake and his squad will help defend the village, while Filo flies us up on that ship. Is there anything you would like to change?" Naofumi asked his father since he had the most battle experience.

"Not much, other than I would like to be invisible when we get on the ship, so I can be an observer and if the situation requires it I will step in." He quickly answered.

"Then we should get going, it looks like the other three idiots have started without any plan in mind if I am correct," Naofumi commented as he gestured for Filo and Raphtalia to come to him and Kazuma.

"{Concealment}{Lurk}." Kazuma chanted as he vanished from sight. Raphtalia and Naofumi were expecting him to sit on with them on Filo's back, but they soon realized that he had strapped himself to Filo's feet instead. A slight unnatural weight shift in feathers was a risk he didn't want to take, Raphtalia figured. As soon as Filo confirmed that something had indeed been strapped to her legs, it was time for take-off.

Filo's speed on land was amazing, but in the air, she was a little wonky. Probably since she wasn't as used to the air, or it could have been the turbulence the ship caused. When they could see the deck of the ship it was utter chaos. Filo landed gently on one of the masts so Kazuma could get time to unhook himself, while they took a minute to observe. Ren was fighting what looked like an undead pirate captain, while Motoyasu was fighting what looked like a many-headed hydra with three red eyes on each head. Itsuki was still on the ground shooting at the ship. They were supposed to spawn a soul-eater, but for some reason, none of them could understand that what they were currently doing wasn't working.

"Ren come on we have to take out this Kraken, or else this soul-eater won't spawn!" Motoyasu yelled in frustration at Ren that just defeated the undead captain for the third time.

"It is the fucking skeleton that will spawn the soul-eater so come over here and help me!" Ren yelled out with the same sense of frustration. This bickering, suddenly spread to their party members, as they started throwing insults at each other, totally forgetting THE FIGHT.

"Stop bickering like little children!" Naofumi yelled out in a commanding tone as he landed Filo on the deck, in a pretty cool way from Kazuma's view.

"Oh, it is Naofumi," Ren said in a monotone voice.

(Don't throw it, I can use him as a meat shield) Kazuma argued with himself as he was about to throw the potted plant at Ren.

"Why don't you go and save some village and leave this to the **real **heroes!" Motoyasu said in a mocking tone.

(Oh, I really want to throw it at you, oh my god, how badly I want to throw this right in your face.) Kazuma thought as he leaned his arm backward, barely restraining himself from throwing it at him.

"Yeah, an incompetent hero like you…," "**CRASH!**" Bitc… I mean Myne was promptly knocked out as a potted plant crashed into her face and broke her nose.

(Ah, much better.) Kazuma sighed in relief as he scored a perfect hit on her face.

"Myne!" Motoyasu screamed out in panic as he looked at his knocked-out party member.

"You are clearly the incompetent once here, you are just doing your own things without working together," Naofumi complained as he pointed an accusing finger at both heroes standing before him.

"It is clear that we need to kill this skeleton!" Ren yelled out with conviction.

"You just killed that thing and nothing happened," Motoyasu pointed out.

"We need to kill it 5 times for it to spawn the soul-eater," He said in frustration.

"STOP IT!" Naofumi commanded promptly shutting the kid… I mean "heroes" up. "_There has to be some other way of spawning a soul-eater_," he muttered to himself. Then he saw what looked like an evil smile present itself in one of the shadows, that belonged to the Kraken. He got an idea.

"Raphtalia cast light magic, NOW!" Naofumi ordered.

"Ok, _as source as thy power, I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and illuminate my surroundings, _cast {First light}!" Raphtalia chanted as she illuminated the deck, making all the surrounding shadows squirm in agony.

"Now Raphtalia, attack the shadows!" Naofumi ordered, which she promptly did. This made the shadows transform into transparent white ghost-like beings. When the other heroes saw this worked, they also started stabbing the shadows, which made even more ghost-like beings spawn.

"Look soul-eaters are spawning all over the ship." Itsuki needlessly pointed out as he got on deck.

(How the fuck did you get up here?) Kazuma thought to himself in confusion.

Suddenly all the ghostly white spirits started merging with each other until they coalesced into a soul-eater. Everyone on the ship looked on in pure shock at what had just appeared in front of them, well everyone except for Kazuma.

(Why are you so surprised, weren't you guys trying to summon this thing.) He thought as he readied he bow, just in case something went wrong.

The three useless idiots, then immediately attacked with their most powerful attacks. Not even taking a second to assess their enemy, or look for where its weaknesses might be. Then when their attacks hit, it did absolutely nothing. Naofumi, on the other hand, ordered Filo to use wind magic on it, mixed with her devastating kicks and Raphtalia's swordplay. This did damage, but it was minimal. They had only been able to take 5% of the soul-eaters total health. Naofumi felt an obligation to get back to the village as quickly as possible and utilized rage shield.

(WTF is going on with Naofumi, why is he burning. I might have to step in here.) Kazuma thought as he drew his bow backward.

"{Shield prison}," Naofumi yelled as a ball metal appeared around the soul-eater trapping it inside. "{Change shield}," He chanted as the ball stuck spikes into the soul eater. "I call upon the {Iron maiden} where you shall be skewered to death." His son roared as his eyes shone red. This made a giant iron maiden filled with spikes on the inside appear in the air. The inverted spike ball containing the soul eater was then lifted into the iron maiden, where it was promptly skewered to death.

(Cool, but I am not allowing him to use that again.) Kazuma put as a mental note before another soul-eater appeared through the deck. He was about to light it up with his arrows when it was suddenly executed by an unknown third-party.

Then a woman with pale skin, red eyes, and black hair appeared in front of them. She was wearing what looked like a traditional Japanese kimono while holding a metal fan in each hand.

**I will end this chapter here because this was a very long chapter. Thank you for reading all the way to the end. I hope you enjoyed it. I promise the next fight scene I make will be better.**


	6. Lost in transfer

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 6: Lost in transfer

**A new figure had suddenly appeared after she had taken out a soul-eater with ease. This was something Naofumi and his party had struggled to do. Naofumi had to utilize his rage shield, and that barely killed it. Now this woman that stood before them had killed a soul-eater in less than a second. So she was clearly powerful, the question was just, how powerful?**

Everyone, even Kazuma looked on in shock of what they were seeing. Kazuma looked on in shock, but not for the same reason everyone else did. He looked on in shock, because this woman looked like Megumin, just taller and with longer hair.

(I should make a kimono for Megumin while we are here.) He thought to himself.

"You really have troubles with weaklings like these?" the woman asked in a mocking tone as she gestured to the people before her, while wearing a coy smile.

She started to walk towards Naofumi as she spoke, "There is only one person here worthy of the name hero," the woman declared in a praising tone as she directed everyone's attention towards Naofumi.

(Good choice.) Kazuma thought to himself.

"What is your name?" She asked in a curious tone.

"Introduce yourself before you go asking for someone else's name!" Naofumi yelled back in a stern tone.

"Oh, pardon me, where are my manners. My name is Glass and feel free to consider me your enemy. I think that is all you need to know, for now." Glass said in an unnaturally calm tone as she declared something rather ominous.

(She is a boss, well should have expected as much. I had to fight a demon king general, when I was level 15.) Kazuma chuckled to himself as he saw history repeat itself.

"I am Naofumi," he declared in a calm tone as he wore a serious expression.

"Well then, shall we begin? The only worthy of the name hero," she asked as she intently stared at Naofumi, while unfolding her metal fans.

Everyone stared intently at Glass. No one moved a muscle, clearly this was a strong enemy where even a tiny mistake could mean death. The opponents were sizing each other up. Naofumi hid his distress as he knew he didn't have any SP left to perform the same attack as he did earlier on the soul-eater. He would try to protect Raphtalia and Filo, and then hope that Kazuma could take her on.

"Why are you waiting to attack, Hero of the shield Naofumi? Do you perhaps want to send these servants at me first?" Glass asked in a mocking tone as she gestured towards the shocked "heroes" and their party members.

(Ah, she is baiting them to attack her, but only an idiot would fall for such an obvious bait.) Kazuma realized as he spectated the battle from above.

"DID SHE JUST CALL US NAOFUMI'S SERVANTS!" the three idiots yelled out in unison, as they clearly took offense to her statement. Kazuma could see a faint smile emerge on her face, which she quickly covered with one of her fans.

(I forgot, there are three of them on this ship.) Kazuma thought as he facepalmed.

The three idiots and their party started to surround her as bitc… I mean Myne started to wake up. They then let out their meteor series attacks and shot everything directly at her. Their combined attacks made a huge flash, and when it resided Glass stood there like nothing had happened to her.

"Truly pathetic," she said her voice full with disdain, as she readied her own attack.

"What is going on?" Myne asked groggily as she awoke from her knockout, her nose still bleeding.

"{Reverse four season}" Glass chanted, which created an extremely strong wind that swept everyone, except Naofumi, Filo, Kazuma and Raphtalia off their feet, knocking them out instantly. Myne was sent violently thrown into a mast, which broke her right arm.

"Like I was saying before, just mere servants." She mockingly stated as she looked on the sorry excuse for heroes and their party members, that were strewn around on the ground.

"I hope you will at least entertain me a little," Glass said as she pointed her fans at him in a challenging manner.

"You should meet a friend of mine, the only thing she is useful for is entertaining people with her fans though," Kazuma in his thief outfit stated as he appeared behind Glass.

"And who are you?" Glass asked in genuine surprise.

"The one who will defeat you!" Kazuma stated in an intentionally silly manner, trying his best to act drunk.

"Where were you hiding all this time, and drop the act I can tell you aren't drunk. I can't smell any alcohol on you." Glass said as she got increasingly frustrated at this silly man before her.

"You are clever. Let me just say one thing before we start," Kazuma said in a serious tone as he dropped the act.

"Please tell," She said in a tired voice, clearly she found this mysterious person annoying.

"{Steal}," Kazuma chanted, which made his hand emit a blue glow, and when the light resided he stood there holding a pair of black panties. (Well, I might as well just pocket these.) He thought as he stuffed the piece of underwear into his satchel.

"You scum, why would you steal my panties, you will pay for this." Glass declared as some cracks started to show in her calm demeanor.

Naofumi just stared at his father with a blank face, not knowing how to react to this. Raphtalia was shocked by the perverted thing she had just witnessed, she had held Kazuma in high regard previously but now she didn't know what to think about him. Filo followed Raphtalia's line of thought. Then Chomusuke emerged from Filo's feathers and meowed.

(You get used to it.) Chomusuke thought to herself, as she poked her head out of the fluffy feathers. She then jumped out of her comfy sleeping bag, and landed gracefully on the deck of the ship and lazily stretched out.

(Why is she just angrily staring at me, this usually always works to either make a girl embarrassed, or angry enough to attack me.) Kazuma thought. His plan had been to make her so angry she made a mistake and attacked him, but she was clearly not a careless person. He would have to change things up a bit.

"If you are not going to make the first move, then I will {Fireball}," Kazuma chanted the spell, creating a tennis ball sized fire in his hand that he threw at Glass. She was a little on guard as the ball of fire flew towards her, but she easily smacked it away like it was nothing.

"What kind of pathetic magic was that supposed to be?" Glass mockingly said as she gestured to the fireball that was currently flying away. "Even these servants had more powerful attacks." She pointed out, as she thought this guy just had to be cocky.

(Just as planned, she underestimates me.) "Take this {Wind breath}," Kazuma chanted as he pulled out a bag of flour and used the wind to send a massive cloud of flour towards Glass.

"Are you serious, are you trying to bore me to death?" Glass said dejectedly as she stood inside a cloud of finely dispersed flour.

"You underestimate my flour, {Fireball}" Kazuma chanted as he created another fireball in his hand.

"You just did that trick," Glass said in a tired tone, as she got ready to do her own attack and end this stupid farce.

"TAKE COVER!" Kazuma yelled in a serious tone, his son recognized it instantly as the "NO BULLSHIT" voice, Kazuma used when he was extremely serious about something.

"{Shield Prison}" Naofumi yelled as a metal ball with chains appeared around him, Raphtalia, Chomusuke and Filo.

Kazuma threw the fireball at Glass, as it flew through the air Kazuma used {Escape} to get out of the range from the incoming dust explosion.

(I give you, my explosion.) Kazuma thought with a smug grin adorning his face, as he just barely got into cover, before the fireball ignited the flour. The dust explosion didn't have any shockwave, like Megumin prefers, but it got the place heated. Extreme heat spread across the deck, giving people that wasn't in cover nasty burns. Whor… I mean Myne was so (un)lucky that her red hair caught fire, which burned down to her scalp. The only one that got off easy with some superficial burns was a green haired girl named Rishia.

"_Cough, cough_!" Glass coughed violently as the black cloud of burnt powder resided.

Kazuma then shot up from his cover and used {Create water} to douse Glass in water, next he used {Freeze} to hold her in place. However, Glass didn't have any problems breaking free from the ice Kazuma had created.

"You are eternally annoying, but it is time to end this," Glass said in a raspy voice from all the smoke she had inhaled, as she readied her own attack before Kazuma could get out of the way. "{Tortoise shell cracker}" Glass chanted as an arrow of purple light shot towards Kazuma.

"{Reflect}" Kazuma yelled as he hit the purple light with his hand sending it right back at twice the speed, cleanly piercing through Glass' right shoulder like nothing. If Kazuma had mixed it with his snipe ability he would have certainly killed her right there, but he just acted on instinct in that very moment.

"FUCK!" Glass yelled in anger as she saw the damage she had taken. This man was more dangerous than she had thought. (He tricked me, he is much stronger than he seems and he is definitively smart, but who the hell is he?) Glass berated herself as she kept her gaze at the masked man in-front of her, as if trying to see the face behind the black and white mask.

Naofumi finally released the shield prison around him and the girls, the moment Chomusuke was free to roam around she started calmly prancing towards Kazuma.

(I can't hurt her with my own magic, but using her own attacks against her seems to be working fine.) Kazuma noted to himself as he saw Chomusuke walking towards him. The moment his attention was off Glass she jumped forward to swing at his neck, which Kazuma barely was able to dodge.

"I don't like getting my head chopped off, I have been there done that." Kazuma politely informed Glass as he got a safe distance away from her. He finally drew he unnamed blade and got ready for a sword fight, or in this case Sword vs Fan.

Glass didn't hesitate, she immediately jumped forward at Kazuma and swung her fans at him again. He tried to parry with his own sword, but that was quickly chopped in half.

Kazuma was able to dodge away, but Glass still managed to give him a little cut at his left cheek with her first fan, and got a good hit on his stomach, with her other fan.

"_Fuck_!" Kazuma muttered to himself with gritted teeth as he felt the pain spreading across his abdomen.

"{First heal}" Naofumi chanted as he saw the angry/pained expression on his father's face. He recognized it from the time Kazuma had been changing a light bulb, and Naofumi had turned on the power, unintentionally electrocuting his father.

Kazuma could feel his wounds heal, not nearly on the same level that Aqua was capable of, but it was helping.

Kazuma used {Create earth} mixed with {Wind breath} to throw sand in her face. This temporarily blinded her, which gave Kazuma the perfect opportunity to slide under her kimono and grab ahold of her knees, where he proceeded to use {Drain touch} to drain her for mana and energy.

"AH!" Glass shrieked out as she could feel her very life drain away rapidly, she barely managed to kick him off, before she lost too much life energy.

Kazuma quickly got up to see the pale Glass looking translucent, very similar to how Wiz would look after interacting with Aqua for too long. (So, she isn't human) Kazuma noted to himself as he jumped backwards and picked up Chomusuke.

"_I can't lose, I have to win or else my world is doomed!_" Glass muttered to herself, which Kazuma was able to pick up on with his passive ability {Lip reading}.

Kazuma took in this new information and changed his attack "{Hell bind}". The red cross on Chomusuke's forehead started to glow as she opened her mouth and let out a big hairball. Kazuma pointed Chomusuke at Glass and the hairball shot into Glass' chest and quickly started to spread across her body, restricting her movements.

"What is this?" Glass yelled out in slight panic.

Kazuma dropped Chomusuke and used {Dash} quickly get over to her and used his momentum to body slam her into the ground. "Yield!" Kazuma commanded as he held her down in a firm grip.

"I will never surrender!" Glass yelled back him, as she started to sneakily cut herself out of the hairball, without Kazuma noticing.

"Then I will have to…" Kazuma was about to say something, but suddenly the timer ticked down to zero and both Glass and Kazuma abruptly vanished in a flash of light. This caused Chomusuke to shriek out in panic, while Naofumi, Filo and Raphtalia stared on in shock.

The sky turned blue again, and all the rainbow wormholes disappeared. Naofumi could feel the ship starting to lose height as it started plummeting towards the ground. In quick succession Naofumi ran over to the panicking Chomusuke and picked her up, as he gestured for Raphtalia to jump on Filo, before promptly doing so himself. All the while Chomusuke wouldn't stop shrieking.

"Fly Filo, this ship is going to crash!" He ordered which Filo did without a second of hesitation.

Only seconds after liftoff, the ship violently crashed into the ground which caused everyone on the ship to be thrown around. (Un)fortunately everyone got out if it with only light bruising, except for Rishia which was practically unharmed.

When Naofumi and his party gently landed on the ground, they all looked at the panicking cat as she continued to shriek. Naofumi was distressed at this, since Chomusuke always just slept or ate when he saw her, but now she was screaming her lungs out. Since he didn't have any other alternative, Naofumi gently put the panicking cat down into Filo's feathers. This seemed to calm her down for a bit, but then she just continued shrieking.

"Master Naofumi, why is she like that?" Raphtalia asked in a worried tone as she witnessed the distressed cat shrieking.

"She really likes my dad, and he just disappeared right in front of her, wouldn't you also be distressed if I just suddenly vanished like that?" Naofumi asked rhetorically as he gestured for Filo to go to the where the soul-eater had dropped.

(I feel for you Chomusuke) Raphtalia thought as she stared at the cat with pity present in her face.

"Master Naofumi, shouldn't we first go to grandma and tell her that grandpa is gone?" Filo asked as she felt Chomusuke sink her claws into her skin, barely holding back a yelp.

"We will do that, but first I need to absorb the soul-eater to see if I can gain any new powers," He explained as Filo started running towards the corpse of the soul-eater.

After Naofumi had absorbed enough of the soul-eater to unlock some new powers he looked at what was left and made a decision. (The other heroes are too weak, I should probably leave some for them too or else they might die.) Naofumi thought to himself as he got back on Filo and started riding back to the village, where Megumin was currently resting.

"MEOOOOW!" Chomusuke shrieked as Naofumi opened the door to Elrasla's house. This instantly woke Megumin as she stormed out of the bed to see why her familiar was in distress.

"WHAT HAPPENED, WHY IS CHOMUSUKE WAILING!?" Megumin demanded to know as she met Naofumi and the other's in the door.

"Dad vanished," Naofumi quickly answered as he saw the red eyes of his mother flare up.

The moment Megumin heard the news she stared at her ring, before she slowly twisted it around and saw the red gem shining. The moment she saw that, she let out a huge sigh of relief and grabbed ahold of her familiar.

"He is still alive, so calm down, see the gem isn't black. Kazuma is still alive. Chomusuke look at the gem, he is still alive." Megumin said in a calm tone as she gently stroked her hand through Chomusuke's fur. In response the cat calmed down as she intently stared at the red light shining from the ring, as if nothing else mattered to her.

"How does that ring actually work grandma?" Filo asked curiously as she saw how quickly Chomusuke calmed down.

"The ring is linked to his heartbeat, so if we ever get lost from each other I can still know if he is alive," Megumin explained with a tender voice as she gently petted her familiar.

(How romantic) Raphtalia thought to herself as a tear of joy went down her cheek, which Naofumi stroked away. This action made Raphtalia turn red as she looked away from her master.

"But do you know where he is?" Naofumi asked.

"The ring doesn't work like that, it only shines in accordance with the my or his heartbeat. However, if I get emotional it will shine dark red, while mine will flash green if he becomes emotional." She explained as she looked over at her eldest son, while still tenderly stroking Chomusuke.

"Hmm, so you are all family, well what more surprises does this day hold?" Everyone (except for Chomusuke still staring at the ring) looked on in shock at Elrasla as she suddenly spoke.

"Now listen…" Naofumi tried to say, but was interrupted.

"I won't tell a soul, you saved my life after all, so it is the least I can do, but I have to say I am surprised your mother looks so young, I thought she was maybe 20-19 years old." Elrasla complimented in an uplifting tone.

"Thank you," Megumin said as she blushed slightly from the compliment, before she stared out the window. (Where are you?) Megumin and Chomusuke thought to themselves as they stared at their own respective light source.

**/Meanwhile in a wormhole**

"force it out of youuuuu" Kazuma finished his sentence as he clutched onto Glass for dear life, as it felt like he was being dragged through a wind tunnel.

Glass finally managed to cut herself free from Chomusuke's hairball bind. "GET OFF ME!" She yelled as she broke free and pushed Kazuma off herself, sending him crashing through the side of the light tunnel. Glass had finally got rid of Kazuma as she was transported the last stretch back to her own world. Now let us see where Kazuma crash-landed.

**/Meanwhile in the Crimson demon village**

"What if I manage to summon something bigger than a dog?" Meimei asked with a hopeful look on her face as she stared back at her mother.

"If you manage to summon something bigger than a dog, today, I will let you get to ride on my broom," Yunyun answered her daughter, knowing full well she couldn't summon anything bigger than a cabbage head.

"You promise?" Meimei asked as her crimson red eyes shone brilliantly from the thought of being able to ride on the broomstick.

"I promise," Yunyun answered her daughter honestly as she flashed her an encouraging smile.

"Very well then, I Meimei the cutest archmage in the crimson demon village summon forth the strongest creature across all universes to help me in my quest to become **even** cuter!" Meimei chanted as a magic circle appeared on the ground, and in a blinding flash of light no one saw when Kazuma crash-landed on the grasshopper Meimei had summoned as he came out through his own portal.

When Meimei could see her results she shot up in joy, as she saw she had seemingly summoned something bigger than a dog. "MOM I DID IT, I DID IT, LOOK MOM I DID IT!" Meimei screamed in joy as she ran around Kazuma and pointed at him.

Yunyun stared in disbelief at the man that had seemingly been summoned by her daughter. First she looked at the masked Kazuma laying on the ground totally knocked out, then back at her joyful daughter, then back at Kazuma, she repeated this around 20 times before she spoke.

(Oh no, I need to tell her that the broomstick will be out of the question until she is older.) "About the broomstick…" she tried to say as her daughter cut her off.

"Yes, I almost forgot about that since I was so happy about finally being able to summon something so big, thank you for reminding me mom, so where is it?" Meimei asked as she remembered the reward her mother had promised her.

"Let us wait a little with that, we have to see what you summoned first," Yunyun quickly redirected her daughter's attention back to the sleeping Kazuma.

"Oh yeah, hey who are you, hey wake up, hello are you awake?" Meimei asked as she started poking Kazuma in the side. "He isn't waking up mom, what do I do now?" Meimei asked as she kept poking Kazuma.

"Step away, I will wake him up," Yunyun declared as she readied her spell, after Meimei had gotten out of the way Yunyun cast "{Freeze}". This caused Kazuma to jolt up in pain at the sudden temperature change.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Kazuma yelled as he frantically looked around, before he saw an older woman, and a child around ten looking at him curiously.

"Uhm, who are you, where the fuck am I and why did you cast {Freeze} on me!?" Kazuma asked in rapid succession as he stared at the two people standing in front of him.

"I am Meimei the cutest crimson demon of the crimson demon village, and I have summoned you here, so now bow down to me, my familiar!" Meimei declared in usual crimson demon fashion.

"Crimson demon you say," Kazuma instantly understood where he was as he looked around to see that he was indeed back in the crimson demon village. "And who are you?" Kazuma asked Yunyun, since he clearly did not recognize her (poor Yunyun).

"I am Yunyun, and who might you be?" she asked curiously since Kazuma was still masked, she couldn't recognize him.

"Oh yeah," Kazuma took off his mask revealing his face. "I am Kazuma!" he said with a smile on his face, he didn't realize it before, but he had really missed this world.

Yunyun stared on in shock as she recognized her old friend, while Meimei remained ignorant. "Kazuma, KAZUMA!" Yunyun yelled out in joy as she tackled him down to the ground, Meimei followed suit since it looked like fun to tackle someone down to the ground.

"OOF," Kazuma uttered as he got slammed into the ground, "Yes, I am Kazuma," He said in a monotone voice. He clearly didn't enjoy getting body slammed. "Can you get off me now?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh sorry, here let me help you up." Yunyun said as she got off him, and helped him up off the ground.

"So, is this your daughter?" Kazuma asked as he pointed at the little girl.

"Yes indeed, this is my daughter, and I have already met yours and Darkness' children, but have you gotten any children with my frie… I mean rival Megumin?" Yunyun asked with wide eyes in the hope that she had finally beaten Megumin to something.

"Yes, we have a 20 year old boy, and an 18 year old boy." Kazuma happily informed her, which caused her to slightly sulk down.

(I got beaten by 10 years) she thought to herself as she clenched her fist together in frustration.

"So, who is the father?" Kazuma asked

"Dust, her father is Dust," She said with some disappointment present in her voice.

"How exactly did that happen?" He asked in genuine surprise.

"I don't want to talk about that, can we please talk about something else?" She pleaded with him.

"Fine, but how are things around here these days?" Kazuma asked

"It is always so BORING!" Meimei shot in, as she leaned her head backwards to show how bored she was.

"It has been peaceful ever since the demon king was defeated, but yes, our daily life is quite boring."

"I HEARD SOMEONE SAY KAZUMA!" a crimson demon shouted as he burst out of his house, alerting EVERYONE in the village to his return. In less than a minute all the inhabitants of the village had surrounded Kazuma, Meimei and Yunyun. Some were flying in the air, which blocked out the sun but that was fixed by someone casting light. Literally casting a spotlight at him and Meimei, no one even payed any attention to Yunyun.

"Eh, Yunyun can you teleport us out of here?" Kazuma asked pleadingly, he didn't want this much attention.

"{Teleport}" Yunyun chanted as she grabbed ahold of both Meimei and Kazuma.

"Where did you teleport us Yunyun?" Kazuma asked as he looked around in a decently looking house, while the smell of something cooking came from the kitchen.

"Eh, this is Yuiyui's house," She informed the unfortunate Kazuma, before she promptly teleported away with Meimei in tow.

(Oh crap) he thought, as a woman looking like she was 40 walked out of the kitchen holding a spatula tighter than necessary.

"Hey, KA, ZU, MA! So, where is my daughter, and more importantly," Yuiyui said in an unnatural calm voice as she slowly approached Kazuma with an unsettling smile plastered on her face. "WHERE ARE MY GRANDCHILDREN!" she yelled as she angrily smacked Kazuma's head with the "spatula of justice" (No like serious, that is the name of the spatula).

"FIRST, I DON'T GET TO ATTEND THE MARRIAGE OF MY OWN DAUGHTER, THEN YOU DISAPPEAR WITH HER, AND LASTLY I NEVER GOT TO HOLD MY OWN GRANDCHILDREN, I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO SEE THEM!" Yuiyui yelled as the spatula of justice kept getting slammed into Kazuma's head.

"We OUCH, have OUCH, two OUCH, sons," Kazuma was able to utter and after he said "sons" he expected another smack, but it didn't come.

"SO, you have gotten me grandchildren?" Yuiyui stared at him intently to see if he was lying.

"Yes, we have two sons, eldest is 20 and youngest is 18." Kazuma said as he started rubbing his sore head.

"And when can I see them?" Yuiyui asked, narrowing her eyes even more at him.

"Eh, as soon as I can find a way to transport us to Japan, you can see them," he answered, in a frightened tone as he saw the burn in her eyes.

"Ah, wonderful then would you like to sit down and eat with me and Hyoizaburoo, son?" She asked, but Kazuma knew he couldn't refuse the dinner invitation regardless so he politely nodded.

As Kazuma sat down with his father in-law(FIL) the atmosphere was very tense between him and Hyoizaburoo, as Yuiyui was in the kitchen preparing the food.

"So, nice house, when did you get this?" Kazuma asked trying to break the tension

"HMPH!" Hyoizaburoo angrily huffed as he gave Kazuma a murderous stare.

"Honey don't you harm him in any way, Megumin loves him!" Yuiyui yelled from the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that Kazuma, I got a little carried away," he said as he rubbed the back of his head, before he leaned in close to Kazuma "_she told me to look angry, but good to see you,_" He whispered, which caused Kazuma to let out a huge sigh of relief.

Suddenly Megumin's mom came into the living room with a trolley filled with food. This was a shock to Kazuma, since last time he ate dinner with them, it had been water with some rice here and there, with some really thinned out tea. Now she was bringing out a three-course meal, and it smelled wonderful.

"So, how did you get all these things?" Kazuma asked curiously as Yuiyui sat down next to her husband.

"Queen Lalatina provided us with this, after you and Megumin went to Japan." She informed him as she levitated the food in front of each person.

"Kazuma do tell, how has your life with Megumin been in Japan the last 20+ years?" Hyoizaburoo asked.

And so the story of his life with Megumin was told, and it went on for a few hours until nightfall. Kazuma was then later offered to sleep in the 2nd guestroom they had, which they boasted about in great lengths. As Kazuma went to sleep he looked at his ring, and saw the green gem blink rhythmically, this put his mind at ease and let him sleep peacefully.

The next day Kazuma woke up to someone knocking at his bedroom door. "Kazuma wake up, breakfast is being served" Yuiyui said in a gentle tone as she waited for a response.

"AUGH, I am coming," He answered in a yawn as he lazily got out of the bed.

When Kazuma arrived at the dinner table he was greeted by a friendly married couple, with stacks of pancakes already made.

"You two are becoming great grandparents," Kazuma said not realizing how those words could be interpreted.

"REALLY! Which one of my sons have become a father, or do they wait for one?" Yuiyui asked in a super giddy tone as her crimson eyes shone brilliantly.

"NOW HOLD UP, none of my sons are awaiting any children," Kazuma interjected.

"Oh, too bad," She said as her voice was filled with disappointment.

"Well on second thought Naofumi has pretty much adopted two girls, so in a way you are great-grandparents." Kazuma shot in as Filo and Raphtalia came to mind.

"Hmm, I am sure I can find a woman for both of my grandchildren." She said with full confidence.

"About that, my youngest is gay, so I think that finding him a girlfriend will be troublesome," as he informed his MIL(Mother In-Law) about his youngest sexual orientation he could see a huge smile emerge on her face.

"SO, I can hook him up with boys, I can talk to him about what he finds attractive in a man?" Yuiyui went on a rant of what she could do with her youngest son, clearly not discouraged in the slightest. She was very fond of her family after all.

"Well, I guess you can if you manage to crack through the walls he has put up," Kazuma said as he started stuffing his face with pancakes.

After they had been eating for some time Kazuma wondered where Komekko could be so he asked. "So where is the reincarnation of gluttony?" He asked jokingly, remembering how much that little girl could eat.

"Come with me Kazuma, we are going to teleport to her right now!" His MIL declared as she grabbed ahold of him, before he got to eat the last piece of his pancake she suddenly teleported them.

Kazuma looked around a little confused as he tried to take in his surroundings. He was standing in a spacious living room, he then looked to the fireplace and above the fireplace he could see a Family crest. The crest was a big golden V that a hand grabbed ahold of from behind, it was supposed to convey the message of how the house of Satou stole the victory from the demon king. Kazuma had sketched it when he was younger, but never really gotten to see the finished product in person. When he realized what he was seeing he instantly understood where Yuiyui had brought him.

"I thought we were going to meet Komekko, not my own children," Kazuma said as he gave his MIL a judging stare.

"We are going to meet both, I think Komekko is in the kitchen with your son. He sure likes to cook all types of food." She explained as they started to walk down towards the kitchen.

(Oh god, he despises me, Eris at least told me, so what kind of harsh talking is he going to give me when he sees me, will my own son outright say he hates me?) Kazuma's mind went on a frenzy, as his catastrophe thoughts kept piling on for every step they took towards the kitchen.

"Can… can you please go in first, so you can prepare him for me," Kazuma asked timidly as Yuiyui laid her hand on the door handle. In reality he didn't want to go in that door, he had not been there for his children all of their life. He had come up with excuses to not see them, but now he had to see them, and this was his last attempt to wriggle himself out of it. As soon as Yuiyui went inside he would use {Escape}.

"Oh, I see, very well then, you can stay out here {Paralysis}" Yuiyui chanted with an evil smile on her face, as she opened the door and walked in.

(Fuck! She saw right through me.) He thought as he was unable to both move and talk. Now he could only stare on in horror at the door. (At least the food he makes smells good, at least I will have one good memory before my son starts berating me.)

"Good morning!" Yuiyui said as she walked into the kitchen.

She instantly caught the attention of the two people in the kitchen, her 28 year old daughter Komekko and Kazuma's 20 year old son Masaharu Satou. Masaharu looked at Yuiyui and smiled back at her as he simultaneously cut vegetables. Komekko sat on the kitchen bench and idly swung her feet around as she shot her mother a brilliant smile. She was the self-proclaimed taste tester on all the food Masaharu made.

"Hello, Yuiyui what brings you to my kitchen today?" The blonde haired Masaharu questioned as his calm blue eyes looked at the woman entering.

"I have brought a surprise with me, so please put away the knife," She said as she gestured to the knife that was expertly being swung through the air by Masaharu, cutting everything into perfect slices before it landed in the boiling pot bellow.

"Very well," Masaharu said as he effortlessly threw the knife behind him, making it land perfectly in a washing rack. "What is the surprise?" he said as he wiped his hands clean on a paper towel.

Komekko also intrigued at what this surprise could possibly be, for once stared at something else than food with intrigue. Yuiyui went back outside the kitchen and dragged in the paralyzed Kazuma, before she introduced him.

"This Masaharu, is your father, Kazuma Satou! You can do whatever you want with him for the next 5 minutes, before the paralysis spell wears off." Yuiyui informed the pair.

"Kazuma?!" Komekko uttered out in shock as she stared at the paralyzed man, very quickly recognizing him as her sister's husband.

"MY FATHER!?" Masaharu yelled questioningly, this man didn't look anything like the statues depicted him, but it did fit the description his mother had given of him.

Kazuma's eyes went wide as he saw his son start walking menacingly towards him, but he couldn't do anything as his son wrapped his arms around him and… hugged him. He was hugging him, why was he being so friendly. Didn't Eris say he still despised him. Then Kazuma could feel the hug getting tighter, and tighter. His son was currently crushing him in a bear hug, making Kazuma unable to breathe.

(So this is how I die, in the arms of my own blood) Kazuma thought as he could feel his consciousness slipping away.

"Masaharu, he is much weaker than your mother, you can't hug him with so much strength. You are going to kill him," Komekko pointed out as she could see her Brother in-law's (BIL) face turn purple.

Masaharu only first realizing how much strength he put into the hug instantly let go, letting Kazuma breathe in the precious air he so needed. He then shot his father an apologetic smile very similar to that of his mother. Imagine a male version of Darkness just with spiky blonde hair like Kazuma, then you have a quite good description of how Masaharu looked.

"So, what are you doing here?" He asked his father.

(I am still paralyzed, I can't answer you) Kazuma thought as he tried to convey the information through his eyes, which proved ineffective.

"I am sorry if it was an intruding question, but I am just so happy I can finally meet you," He told his paralyzed father with genuine joy showing in his voice.

"Didn't you say you would filet Kazuma if you ever met hi…" Komekko tried to point out as she was abruptly silenced by Masaharu's hand.

"Don't listen to her, she is just speaking nonsense," Masaharu said as his face grew beet red from embarrassment.

(WTF! What did she just say, WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY!) Kazuma screamed in his head, but the paralysis made him unable to do anything other than breathe and blink.

"Mom, take him out of the paralysis already," Komekko said as she grew tired of him not saying anything.

"Fine," she responded to her daughter's plea, and patted Kazuma on the back, finally giving him back the ability to move and talk.

"H-hello, son?" Kazuma almost asked, he was worried that his son wouldn't let him call him "son," but he was pleasantly surprised to see his son shine up, before his eyes flashed with fear as he got dragged into another bear hug.

"YEAH!" Masaharu cheered in joy as he again started to crush his own father, totally forgetting what he was just told.

"_chant brehhhte aahh,_" Kazuma was barely able to breathe out, which his son didn't pick up. So Komekko had to again save her BIL and make Masaharu aware of the purple color his father started to get.

"Hah, hah, you definitively have gotten your mother's strength, hah, hah!" Kazuma managed to convey in-between heavy pants, as the sweet oxygen was able to refill his lungs.

"To be honest I have gotten most of this strength and experience from just cooking." Masaharu informed his father with a smug smile.

"Why didn't I think of doing that?" Kazuma uttered as he facepalmed. (I could have stayed home and safely cook all day, instead of going on dangerous missions, I am stupid.) he thought, as he realized just how genius this ploy was.

"He gives all the food to a noble cause, so no food goes to waste." Komekko proudly proclaimed, as she wiped away some drool escaping her mouth.

"How is feeding you, a noble cause?" Masaharu questioned the glutton, that was currently trying to discreetly inch over to the boiling pot.

Komekko put a hand over her heart in a manner as if she had been shot, before she fell to the ground and played dead. In response to the overdramatic Komekko, both Kazuma and his son stared blankly at her, before Masaharu went over to the pot and pulled out a giant spoon. He then dipped the spoon into the pot, and pulled out a bowl's worth of soup and went over to the "dead" Komekko.

"Do you demon of glutton that resided in this woman accept this sacrifice as adequate to release her from your clutches?" he asked in a monotone voice, already knowing the answer.

""Sniff" "sniff" this food smells fine for me to consume, "slurp" yes I find this as an adequate sacrifice to release this wonderful girl." Komekko said with closed eyes as she just casually slurped up the spoon's content, with frightening speed.

"Would you please get up?" Masaharu asked in a tired tone.

"Lift me!" Komekko ordered as she stretched out her arms, which Masaharu used to drag her on his back, before he set her down on the kitchen bench.

Kazuma stepped a little bit back towards Yuiyui, "_Are they in a relationship?_" he whispered, as he kept spectating the eerily familiar seen before him.

"_I am working on it, but I would be appreciate if you would like to help me._" Yuiyui whispered back to him.

"_NO! that would be really weird,_" He angrily whispered to his MIL as the thought of Komekko being both his SIL and Daughter in-law(DIL) was a little unsettling.

"_Come on, they are perfect for each other, he makes food almost non-stop and she eats almost non-stop_" She whispered back in an argumentative tone.

"_There should be more to a relationship than just-_" he was cut off.

"What are you two whispering about?" Masaharu asked curiously.

"Nothing to worry about," Yuiyui said with an innocent smile.

"Now then, where is my daughter?" Kazuma said in an excited voice, now he really wanted to see his daughter. If this was despise by Eris' standards, he really wanted to see how good glorification was going to be.

"Oh, she is probably hanging out with Chris, like she usually does," Komekko answered as she started levitating some of the stew from the giant pot, and over to her giant spoon, which she ate at such blazing speed Masaharu wasn't able stop her in time. Instead he gave her a judging look as he put a lid on the giant pot, protecting the stew from further thievery.

"Do you know where that could be?" Kazuma asked.

"Either they are in the hideout, or they are doing a security job for some noble." Masaharu told his father as he shielded the pot from the hungry glutton, with his body.

"I will take my leave then, I will see you later." Kazuma informed them as he left through the door.

"Kazuma!" a young girl's voice rang out from behind him, when he looked back to see there was no one there.

"BOO!" A little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, yelled out as she floated in front of him.

"Hey Anne," Kazuma said in a monotone voice as he looked at/through the ghost girl floating in front of him.

"You are no fun, I haven't seen you for 20 years and not even as much as a yelp," Anne said with feigned disappointment.

"You have done that trick to much on me after I got the ability to see ghosts, so no. I won't be scared by you." He informed her.

"Do you want to hear some gossip?" Anne said as a mischievous smile adorned her face

"Sure, tell me some juicy gossip Anne" He answered with the same mischievous smile on his face.

"That crimson demon girl and your little chef have been going at it in the bedroom every night for about a week now," She informed him as she finally got a shocked expression from Kazuma.

"They have been having-"

"SEX, yes they have been going at it like wild animals, much different from you and Lalatina did it, and definitively much further than you and Megumin ever got." She kept telling him as her evil smile grew even more.

"Excuse me, me and Megumin did it, but never in the mansion since we traveled to Japan." Kazuma informed the ghost as a blush emerged on his face.

"What! I really missed that. Don't tell me you did it with other girls I don't know about, I only liked it when you Lalatina did it." Anne said as she started to pout.

"That is none of your business!" Kazuma said in a stern tone. "Also weren't you supposed to be exorcised by Aqua after I left?" He said as he started to scowl at the ghost girl.

"Eh, Well I wasn't ready so I asked her to come back in like 40-60 years." She nervously informed him.

"Can you just wait here for a second, I got one more question, but I just have to do something first?" Kazuma asked, the moment he got a nod from the ghost, he ran back to the kitchen.

"Son, I am so proud of you!" Kazuma happily exclaimed as he gave him a thumbs up, as he started to walk up to him, before he grabbed him in a chokehold.

"Why are you sleeping with your aunt?!" Kazuma yelled, while he tried his best to reprimand his son, with his relatively weak chokehold.

"How did you find out about that?" Komekko and Masaharu asked in unison as their faces started to grow red.

"IS IT TRUE, I CAN AWAIT GRANDCHILDREN?!" Yuiyui yelled out in joy as she started to dance around.

"We used protection so that will probably not be the case," Masaharu effortlessly answered from his father's chokehold, which made Kazuma let him go.

"Why are you letting him go?" Yuiyui asked as she wanted to choke him, over the (bad) news.

"Well, they have been responsible so I don't see why not," Kazuma explained.

"I asked him to use protection," Komekko shot in, saving her lover from her mother's wrath.

"Come with me, my dear Komekko," she said in a dangerously chilly voice, as a fake smile emerged on her face.

"Not going to happen {Teleport}!" Komekko yelled in fright as she teleported away to Eris knows where.

"You bet it is {Teleport}!" Yuiyui yelled back as she also teleported away.

"Ok, quick question, are those C-cups real?" Kazuma asked curiously, which Masaharu just nodded in response.

(Hmm, maybe diet has something to do with it) Kazuma thought to himself.

"Well then I will now be off, but for real, and please remember that this mansion has a perverted ghost living in it, so if you want to keep your nightly affairs a secret don't do it in the mansion," Kazuma informed his son as he patted him on the shoulder before he again left through the door.

"Wait what?!" Masaharu yelled out in shock at the news, but now he stood in the kitchen all alone, which almost never happened.

Kazuma then walked back to the most perverted inhabitant of the mansion.

"Ok, so tell me, where is my daughter?"

"Oh I don't know that, she is almost never in the mansion," Anne said as she vanished.

"Well, I am going to need to find her the hard way then. Let me first check out the hideout" Kazuma said to himself as he started to travel to the most "covert" hideout for thieves in the city. A giant mansion, bought by princess Iris, from when Megumin created a fan club for the chivalrous thieves.

**/Meanwhile back in Melromarc**

"The king has summoned you shield hero!" a knight informed him as he was traveling back to Erhard's shop to get some new upgrades.

"Why would he summon me, has he found more stuff he wants to berate me for?" Naofumi asked in a stern tone, while giving the knight a death stare.

"Eh, I advise you to at least answer his summons, if nothing else, dev… shield hero," The knight said, trying his best to not lose his shit in front of Naofumi and his party.

"Fine, I will see what that moron has to ask me about," Naofumi said in a tired tone as he shooed away the pestering knight.

"Master Naofumi, what will we be doing while you are gone?" Raphtalia asked

"Watch after my mother and keep her hidden, remember she is still banished from the city, but I think she will be fine in Erhard's shop" Naofumi answered, as he pulled another rug over Megumin and Chomusuke.

After a few hours of travel, Naofumi got to the castle and ordered for Filo and Raphtalia to bring the carriage to Erhard, while he was talking to the king. When he arrived in the throne room he was showed a crystal ball that depicted the battle he had fought against the soul-eater, until the clip abruptly ended after Glass showed up and used her attack.

"I saw what happened through this crystal ball, and even if it pains me to admit this, you did well to quell the wave," The trash, I mean the king reluctantly told Naofumi.

(Ah yes, the normal "gratitude" from the royal family) Naofumi had expected this.

"How did you manage to muster such power? This power you have obtained is unbecoming of the shield hero, it is your duty to reveal the secret behind it!" The king ordered.

"Get on your knees and beg for it, if you want to know so badly," Naofumi said as a smug smile adorned his face while pointing to the ground.

"I knew it he is really in cahoots with that devil we saw a few days ago!" A robed man spoke up.

"Very well then, arrest the shield hero!" The king commanded making 6 soldiers surround him.

"Hmm, you really think you can defeat me, from what have I been told here today, I can easily kill you, dance on your corpse and leave this place without a scratch!" He mockingly informed with a smug smile, the confidence he emitted made the soldiers surrounding him flinch.

"That is clearly a bluff, attack him!" The king ordered, but Naofumi shot in.

"I killed the most powerful monster of the wave singlehandedly, if you believe you can take me down, THEN GO AHEAD!" Naofumi yelled which made a soldier stumble back in fear.

"I will quell the waves, but when that is done I am leaving this god forsaken place!" Naofumi said with a serious look on his face as he stared daggers at the king, which the king answered with his own death stare. Naofumi then turned around and went to leave.

"I am the king, I forbid you to disrespect me this way!" he yelled at Naofumi.

"DON'T EVER SUMMON FOR ME AGAIN!" Naofumi sternly ordered him as he again tried to take his leave.

"If I can't hurt you, I know what I will do, I will make those slaves you own pay for you crimes!" Trash threatened Naofumi, making him turn around and give him a death stare akin to his mother Megumin. That stare was so full of anger and hate that everyone that met his gaze was stricken with an uncontrollable fear and froze.

"If you, as much as lay a finger on them, I will make you regret if for the rest of your life. I will make you wish you weren't born, I will make sure you die slowly so you can growl at my feet for mercy, however, I will not grant you that mercy. Even if you kill me I will know your death shall be painful, and this is not a threat, that is a promise!" Naofumi threatened with so much power behind his words the throne room fell silent, and no one dared to say a word before he was out of the room.

"CURSED SHIELD!" The king yelled out in anger as he saw the doors close behind Naofumi.

When Naofumi started to walk out of the castle, a woman in a pink dress complimented him on his excellent performance under the last wave, before she gave him a warning about the three heroes church. Never revealing herself she just started to wander off. Naofumi noted the warning and started to walk back to Erhard's shop. When he opened the door Megumin and Chomusuke was in distress, because the ring was blinking green.

**Finally, a new chapter! I hope you liked it, and now let us go over to some responses to questions and reviews I have gotten. To all others that have left a review thank you very much and I hope you will continue to read as there is definitively more to come. I hope to be able to release at the very least release two more chapters/stories this month. Until next time.**

**Shoytahn: **Both! I have an outline of **possible** ways I can take this story, but I did start this because I wanted to vent. If you ask me how long this story is going to be, I don't have an exact answer unfortunately. PS. I am also happy you have helped me find some major grammatical errors, I fixed some.

**An ordinary guy: **I will go over the divine punishment's details in a chapter in "Prologue of: The Iwatani family." Also on another note, your other review really made my day, that was so fun to read.

**LuciusRedhand:** Thank you very much! It is truly an outstanding compliment, and I am glad you enjoyed your time reading this chapter.


	7. Princesses

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 7:

**Megumin and Chomusuke is sitting in Erhard's shop looking at a gem blinking green, which indicates that Kazuma is getting emotional. Naofumi doesn't want to stay in Melromarc anymore, so he is discussing with Erhard about which kingdom to travel to next. In the meantime princess Melty is angrily walking towards the throne room to talk to her father.**

Princess Melty opens the door to the throne room to see her father sitting at the throne all by himself. He greets her with open arms as she starts to walk towards him, never revealing any feelings behind her expression. She stared at him with her neutral facial expression, before she spoke.

"I was told that you were having a conversation with the shield hero, is that right father?" she asked in a stern tone.

"Eehh" he blurted out a little shocked at the question.

"And I was also told the conversation ended in a very hostile manner," she kept on relaying to him.

"Hugh!" He audibly sighed.

"Father if you remain at odd with the shield hero, we may lose our only means of fighting the waves, which could threaten the safety of our entire country. Please try to reconcile with him,"

"Reconcile with that swine!" He yelled out in anger, as soon as she spoke the last sentence, which shocked Melty at her father's sudden anger. The king seeing this frightened expression on his youngest daughter quickly reassured her that she was not the source of his anger.

"Why do you hate the shield hero so much?" She asked in a pleading tone.

"It is just that if he and his demi-humans get to do as they please I will lose my family again," he said with a sad expression emerging on his face, clearly he recalled something traumatic.

"Father, I, uh," Melty tried to find words to comfort her father, but she didn't know what to say. She wanted to talk to him about his past, but she also wanted him to get his ass over to Naofumi and reconcile.

"You don't need an old man like me to tell you about that, not with your sister in the hospital with severe burns and all," he said trying to change the subject.

"Please tell me about your past father," she pleaded with him as she started to walk up the stairs.

He looked up at his daughter with a solemn expression as he reluctantly started to tell her about his past.

"When I was young the Hakuko of Siltvelt killed most of my family, only me and my sister survived, and moved to Melromarc," He said as some tears started to drip down his face.

"What does this have to do with you hating the shield hero?" She asked in a gentle tone.

"Because when I started to venture on the frontlines with Melromarc my sister was brutally murdered in a bloodbath, again because of the Hakuko (Demi-human, Half white tiger, half-human) of Siltvelt, and the demi-humans of Siltvelt pray to the cursed shield!" He angrily said as tears dripped down his face.

"Father, that is some stupid reasoning!" She angrily said making him look at her in shock.

"But-" he tried to say, but she cut him off.

"I get you are angry at the death of your family and sister, by the hands of some high-ranking demi-humans from Siltvelt, but projecting that anger onto the shield hero is highly illogical!" She sternly reprimanded her father as he looked on her in shock.

"But the shield hero tried to rape Malty and poisoned her, and she is in the hospital with severe burns because of him. Did you not see the shield hero throw an uncontrollable fire, that probably led to her receiving such severe wounds!" He argued.

"First of all, I do not believe the shield hero would do such a vile thing, and he was the one that provided us with the antidote for the poison she was afflicted with, and from what I have been told, she cut herself on the spear of the spear hero. Also, we have no proof that the shield hero burned Malty since the crystal ball was crushed, we do however have significant proof that he did his best to defeat the enemy," She argued back, in a stern tone.

"But-" he was again interrupted.

"You are acting like a child father if you promise to reconcile with the shield hero I will go to fetch him this instant," She informed as she stared daggers at her father, making him squirm in his chair.

"I will not talk with him again since we are still unclear what his relationship to the devil that showed up both on the ship under the wave, and in the city some time ago," He said while finding his shoes very interesting.

"Does this hatred you hold against the shield hero benefit you in any way? Will hating him bring back your sister," She sternly said before she left her father to sulk on his throne.

He looked at his daughter leaving the throne room before he looked out one of the windows, "Lucia" he muttered to himself.

**/Meanwhile in Erhard's shop**

"Shieldfreeden is what I would recommend," Erhard said while pointing to the map.

"The slave trader also talked about Shieldfreeden,"

"Hey, can we focus on this for a little bit? It is kind of important," Megumin said while frantically waving her blinking ring in front of the pair. She was clearly distressed, and Chomusuke wouldn't stop wailing, again.

"Mom, we can't do anything about that right now, we have to focus on getting stronger. If it hadn't been for dad I bet that woman could have killed me with ease, and if we can't find dad again before the next wave our only option is to get stronger."

Megumin took a deep breath and calmed down, Naofumi was right. They had to focus on the things they had on hand and knowing his luck he could find a way back to them, hopefully.

"Erhard the sword you sold to my father, what quality would you say it had, is it better or worse than Raphtalia's current sword?" He asked with a serious expression.

"It was definitively one of my best swords, why are you asking?"

"Because that woman we met on the ship sliced that sword in half in a single strike, here take a look," Naofumi said as he pulled out a piece of cloth containing the broken sword, Erhard looked on in shock at the sight.

Erhard picked up the blade and looked at the cut, "It looked like in cut through like nothing, that is really disappointing to hear," he sulked over as he put the broken sword piece back.

"Do you have any better options?" Naofumi asked.

"Master Naofumi we need to save money," Raphtalia shot in, she clearly didn't want to be a burden.

"Actually, we are pretty well off after selling that potion, so we can probably afford it," he argued back.

"Unfortunately I can't make a better sword without some high-quality items, I do however have some things prepared for you if you are interested please take a look," Erhard offered, as he gestured to a crate near the counter.

"Hmm, what are these for?" Naofumi asked as he pulled out a pair of silver-blue gloves.

"Those give you the strength of a hundred men, just in case little Filo can't drag the wagon, even you can drag it with these on,"

"Mom, let us arm wrestle I want to see if I can beat you with these on," Naofumi energetically said, a little out of character, but he wanted to get his mom to focus on something else.

"Oh, so you are challenging me, very well. Even with those on you can't match my strength," Megumin immediately accepted in an overdramatic fashion.

"How is that a fair fight? The strength of a hundred men, plus the shield hero's base stats against a mage," Suwon shot in.

"You want to bet on it then?" Erhard asked his new helper.

"Sure, but what are we betting? I don't exactly have any money,"

"The loser must load all the customers' carriages for the next week, all by themselves," Erhard proposed.

"I will take that bet,"

Erhard went over to the two that were getting ready to give it they're all.

"Ok on three you can begin, I will be the judge, Ready?"

They both gave quick nods to Erhard as they tightened the grips on the other's hand and wore the same smug grin.

"1, 2, 3!" Erhard said and Megumin's hand started to slowly get pushed down.

"Mom looks like I am finally going to win," he said as he saw her smug grin disappear.

"Easy win," Suwon confidently declared.

When Megumin's hand was one centimeter from hitting the table Megumin suddenly changed her facial expression from worried back to smug. "Very impressive son, you made me use 10% of my power," she mocked as she easily regained the upper hand and smacked his hand in the other side of the table.

"I WIN AGAIN!" She yelled out as she triumphantly rose from her chair, making Filo stare on in aww.

"What did you say again, oh yeah, easy win," Erhard mocked the former assassin.

"But HOW?" Suwon blurted out in shock.

"When someone is 360 levels above you, I don't think a 100 men make much of a difference," Erhard explained. "Now get to loading boy!"

Naofumi went back to the crate and picked up what seemed to be a sword, but when he unsheathed it, there was no blade.

"Ok, what is this then?" Naofumi asked as he held the item up.

"That is a mana sword for enemies with no physical body," He explained

"Why do we need this huge uncomfortable sheath for this when it doesn't have a blade?" Megumin pointed out.

"Because, it makes it easier for the wielder to manifest the sword when they can see the expected length of their weapon," Erhard explained, not really convincing Megumin.

"And what about this?" Naofumi asked as he pulled out a metal disc with a triangle cut out of it, taking on the shape of a metal Pac-man.

"That is an accessory for your shield, it helps you analyze any other shield you might come across, and some other useful stuff," Erhard happily explained.

"What other useful stuff?" Naofumi asked.

"Oh come on, isn't it more fun to find that out on your own?" He asked rhetorically, with a wide grin.

"Well, how much for all of this?" He asked while slapping his hands down on the box.

"300 gold pieces!" Erhard quickly responded.

"I will give you 10 gold pieces since I am such a trustworthy customer," Naofumi started to haggle for the price with Erhard, while Megumin went over to Filo.

"So we are going on a trip?" She questioned Megumin with a hopeful look on her face.

"Yeah, as soon as those two are done haggling, Raphtalia how long can this take?" She asked, while gently running her hand through Filo's golden blonde hair.

"Hmm, it depends. Everything from 20 seconds to 5 minutes," Raphtalia deduced from her experience with how Erhard and Naofumi used to operate.

"Meow!" Chomusuke quickly shot in as Megumin's ring hand waved out of her sight, it then returned to its normal calm red color, indicating Kazuma's heart rate had gone back to normal.

(What could have possibly gotten him so emotional?) Megumin thought to herself as she felt a sudden sense of relief wash over her.

**/Meanwhile outside a giant mansion in Axel**

(Hmm, if memory serves me right the front door is booby-trapped, {Detect trap}) Kazuma checked the front door to confirm if his memory was correct, which it in this case was.

Kazuma then started to walk around in the garden outside the mansion, always looking for a way in, before he suddenly spotted a giant white tiger laying on the grass. He instantly activated {Lurk}, but he wasn't quick enough. The tiger smelled him in an instant and pounced on him, but instead of biting his head off, it started to lick him. It was like someone rubbing sandpaper against his face, but it was better than getting his head bit off.

"Jake?!" Kazuma yelled out in shock, while trying his best to get the big cat off him.

Jake instantly responded to getting his name yelled out and let go of Kazuma, but still tried his best to rub himself against Kazuma.

"You scared me there for a second, how did you know it was me?" He questioned his old friend, which Jake in response just took a big whiff of him to indicate his smell.

"You remembered how I smell, that is touching," Kazuma said while running his hand through the black and white fur.

(Only you and auntie smell of big sister, I never forget her smell.) Was what Jake tried to communicate, with his intense sniffing.

"Can you help me inside the mansion?" Kazuma asked hopefully to the big cat.

(No, I am tasked with guarding the grass.) Was what Jake wanted to tell Kazuma, but the only thing Kazuma understood was the shaking of his head.

"Hmm, well I will find a way inside on my own then, I will see you-" Kazuma tried to leave but Jake bit onto his cloak and wouldn't let go of him.

(No, I want to play) He thought while doing his best to give Kazuma big puppy eyes, which was surprisingly well-executed for a white tiger of that size. He almost didn't look menacing.

"I come prepared for these situations," Kazuma went into his satchel and fished out a piece of yarn, which instantly caught Jake's attention.

"Go and get it!" Kazuma yelled as he threw the yarn as far away from himself as he could, making Jake literally fly after it. He caught it in an instant and landed gently on the ground like he didn't just jump 50 meters up in the air before he started to play around with the yarn.

(That should keep him occupied for a little bit) Kazuma couldn't help but smile at the big cat playing around with the yarn like some docile kitten.

Kazuma went around another corner where he discovered his way into the mansion, an open window. First, he made sure it wasn't booby-trapped before he started to climb up the outside of the building quickly reaching the window.

"I'm in," Kazuma said like a stereotypical hacker would before he looked to his right.

He instantly locked eyes with a woman dressed in a white dress. She had blonde hair, light-blue eyes, and modest breast size, like high B or low C.

"Hey, I am Kazuma," he introduced himself in a calm voice.

The woman looked at him a little shocked, at the mention of his name, but she quickly regained her stoic expression. She then proceeded to draw a sword, which Kazuma instantly recognized as Calibur. There was only one person that sword could belong to, and if she used it on him, it would most certainly kill him.

"Iris, please put down the sword," Kazuma pleaded as he raised his hands.

"If you really are Kazuma, prove it, if you can't, then I think we both know what comes next for trying to deceive me," Iris threatened.

"Hmm, something only I can do, very well!" Kazuma said as he pulled out his mask and put it on his face, "I think this will suffice, EH!" He yelled as he dodged away from an incoming attack.

"You asshole!" She yelled out in anger while slicing at Kazuma with her blade.(This was what caused Megumin's ring to blink).

"It really is me, Iris, I promise, your ring that I replaced is worth 400 Eris, remember?" He asked as he dodged another slash.

"FUCK OFF!" She yelled out in response, but her voice faltered a little bit.

Now Kazuma was cornered and he knew against Iris he wouldn't have a chance, he had taught her very well in how to fight dirty after all. He would try one last time to try and convince her about his identity, and if that didn't work, well his life had been good up until now.

"Iris please list-"

Suddenly Iris threw away her sword and jumped on him in a tight embrace, making him stop talking instantly. Kazuma didn't expect this, maybe this was the most unexpected thing that could happen.

"Idiot, why did you just leave, you could have taken me with you. WHY DID YOU JUST LEAVE LIKE THAT!" Iris cried out as tears streamed down her face, and her voice cracked.

(She missed me) Kazuma realized as he laid there on the floor totally stunned, while Iris held him as tightly as she could and cried her heart out.

"You are such an asshole, you didn't even give me the chance to say… that… THAT I LOVE YOU!" She cried out before she proceeded to press her face into his chest, wiping her tears and snot on him.

Those words hit Kazuma like a truck, his heart rate went even higher after her confession. Iris had really missed him, and it hurt to know this. He had been able to justify leaving Darkness behind, but he had totally forgotten about Iris, and he felt so bad for it now. Just leaving like that, without any explanation or warning other than a letter, he truly was a selfish asshole. He couldn't make up for it, but he started to tenderly run his hand through her golden blonde hair, trying his best to comfort her.

"I am here now," he gently spoke as he continued to run his hand through her hair.

"T-that is a little late, d-don't you think?" Iris stuttered out as she stared into his green eyes with her light-blue ones. Her face was filled with tears and snot.

"I am,"

"You are what, "sorry," that won't cut it," She angrily muttered, only stopping when Kazuma started to wipe away her tears and snot with his cape.

"I meant to say I am an idiot, and if you want to you can hit me," he said while flashing her a gentle smile.

"You know, I WILL HIT YOU, _with my lips,_" Iris whispered the last part, not giving Kazuma time to react before she closed the last distance and sealed his lips with her own.

"Mhm," Kazuma tried to yell out in shock, but he didn't pull away, was it because he felt guilty for her, no, he wanted this too.

Suddenly his green gem started to blink red and it brought him out of the trance, as he looked at it with worry. PS. (It was Megumin being worried about what was happening to him, that caused it to blink)

"I can't do it, I am sorry Iris. I don't want that feeling of guilt again," He apologized as he pushed her away and showing her his ring.

"I understand, but what if she agrees to it?" She asked hopefully.

"Well, in that case, I see no problem, but how are you going to get her to agree to that?" He questioned the princess with a small chuckle.

"That is something I have to figure out for myself, but I won't force anything," Iris gently told him, while tenderly stroking his hand and looking at the ring that suddenly stopped blinking green, and regained its red shine.

"Could you get off me now, I was planning to meet my daughter?"

"She is right, you do have an innate ability to ruin the mood, heh, but that is the "you", I love," Iris chuckled to herself as she got off him.

"Robin is probably somewhere in this mansion today, hanging out with Chris since she doesn't work on Thursdays," Iris explained.

"I will tell you a good story after all this is over at the very least," Kazuma said before he left through the door, while shooting her an apologetic smile.

"No, stories are for kids, I want to join in on this adventure, so you are taking me with you if you are going anywhere" Iris demanded.

"Sure, I will come to pick you up before I leave this time, I promise," He said before he left through the door.

Kazuma started to wander around in the mansion, it was about the size of a mall, so trying to find someone specific in it would probably take quite some time. That is unless the person searching has incredible luck that is, because behind the first door he opened sat two girls talking. The first one he instantly recognized as E.. I mean Chris, with her short silver hair and purple eyes, in her usual thief outfit.

The other girl had green eyes matching his own, with long brown hair put up in a pony-tail. She was wearing a casual green tracksuit with gold lines instead of white lines. Kazuma instantly understood that this had to be his daughter, because her bust size was very similar to Darkness. It was almost like looking at a female version of himself.

"What are you doing here!?" Chris yelled out in genuine surprise.

"Do you know him?" Robin asked, not really faced by a random man standing in the door.

"How do I put this Robin without making you freak-out, this is your father, Kazuma Satou," Chris told the girl, with some reluctance.

"Are you now?" Robin said in a monotone voice, not giving away any of her emotions. This came as a big surprise to both Chris and Kazuma

"Ehh, that was not the reaction I expected," He said a little shocked at the cold welcome.

"I don't care much for a father, that hasn't been there all my life," Robin said with some undertones of disdain.

In response, Chris walked over to her and smacked her in the back of the head. Similar to how a mother would reprimand a disobedient child.

"Don't talk to your father like that!" Chris reprimanded.

"You are not my mom Chris," Robin said while rubbing the back of her head, but her words clearly hurt Chris, which only Kazuma knew.

"Hey isn't that my sword?" Kazuma pointed at the Katana that was lying on the nightstand.

"No it is my sword!" Robin protested, while quickly grabbing ahold of the weapon.

"Hmm, {Steal}" Kazuma chanted, making a blue light appear in his hand, and when it resided, Kazuma stood there holding the legendary sword, **Chunchunmaru**.

"HEY! TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME {STEAL}" Robin chanted and when the blue light resided she stood there holding Kazuma's mask, which Robin instantly started inspecting with vigor, like it was some lost treasure.

(Interesting) Kazuma noted to himself.

"_It looks just like mom told me,_" Robin muttered to herself, still staring at the mask in aww.

Chris formed an evil plan and walked over to Robin's locker and opened it. The locker contained many paper cutouts of stories revolving around Kazuma's exploits. "Now you can put it in your collection," She said with a smug smile, and loved the panic that flashed on her face

"You weren't supposed to see that!" Robin yelled at him, clearly embarrassed over him seeing her little fan collection, which made Chris and Kazuma laugh hysterically.

"STOP LAUGHING!" She demanded from them, but Chris was rolling around on the floor laughing her ass off, while Kazuma was bent over laughing and holding his stomach.

"Heh, you are a tsundere," Kazuma chuckled at the realization, which just made Chris laugh even more, when she saw how red her goddaughter had gotten.

"Hee-hee, I wonder where she got it from," Chris was able to say after she stifled some of her laughter.

"Ah, ok Robin give me back my mask, I am going to need it to keep a low profile,"

"NO, I stole this fair and square," Robin protested.

"OK THEN, if this is how you want it, {STEAL}{_steal_}," He chanted and when the blue light faded he stood there holding his mask.

"{Steal}!" Robin chanted back, but when it resided she stood there holding a pair of white panties, which made Chris grow red. "Wait what, but how?"

"I predicted you would try to steal it back, so I stole Chris' panties, which has an insane value to me, much higher than the mask or the katana," Kazuma explained to his daughter.

"GIVE ME BACK MY PANTIES!" Chris shrieked as she jumped on Robin, making her unable to use any more spells as she fought with Chris over the panties. She didn't know exactly why, but her instincts told her she was holding something close to a divine treasure, and those sold for a bunch of Eris. Robin liked money so she fought for the panties.

Kazuma seeing his chance to escape took it and left while they were occupied. He drew Chunchunmaru to inspect his old katana, and when it was drawn the blade gave of a light of silver. He realized someone must have had fused the divine blood of goddess Eris to it. Eris had only bleed one time as far he could remember, and that was after they escaped a dangerous dungeon, he had held a handkerchief up to her bleeding cheek as a kind gesture. Feelings were however really high and that lead to some intimate relations, they both regretted later.

"Well, time to meet Darkness," Kazuma said as he started to walk towards the teleport store of Axel.

**/Meanwhile in a hospital bed in Melromarc**

"Your sister is about to leave, she is trying to catch up to the devil of the shield," A robed figure informed, the now newly bald princess bitc… I mean princess Malty.

"Well, then it is time to execute the plan, in best case scenario my sister will be dead, and the devil of the shield will be destroyed, and if he protects her, we will just say he kidnapped her," bitc… Malty schemed with an unsettling grin emerging on her face.

"I will provide her with some soldiers loyal only to us," The robed figure said, with the same grin.

"Wonderful, now have you found any way to quickly regrow hair?" She asked.

"I will go to perform the plan, I bid you farewell princess," The robed figure quickly dodged the question as he left the room.

**/4 hours later on the country road**

Naofumi and company were sitting around a campfire and eating. It was really freeing to be away from royalty and all the other people that despised him. Filo had complained about the tea being too bitter, but otherwise, it was calm, peaceful, and the second princess was now fast approaching as she yelled out for their attention. Naofumi just couldn't get away from this royal family.

"Mom hide for now, we don't want them to know you are with us,"

"Don't think it matters now, they have already seen me, let us just see what they want and get on our way," Megumin argued as she rose from the campfire, holding Chomusuke.

Melty disembarked her royal carriage and started to walk towards Naofumi, "Shield hero, I would like for you to come back and apologize to father," Melty said in a calm and collected tone.

"Nah, I don't think I will do that," Naofumi simply retorted.

"Humph, if you don't come back and make amends with father, mom will yell at him when she gets back!" Melty was clearly getting frustrated.

"FORGET IT!" Naofumi yelled back, anger present in his voice.

"It would be better to reconcile with father, we can't have all this in-fighting. We require your help shield hero, plus where would you be without the king's financial help" Melty looked like she was about to cry.

"What are you talking about, that bitch robbed me of all my money after day 1, all the money I have gained was through my own hard work. I am the one deserves an apology!" Naofumi smugly retorted with.

"_Master Naofumi!_" Raphtalia whispered in a stern tone, to reprimand him for his rude conduct, while Megumin gave her son a judging stare.

"W-why, why do you and father have to be so god damn stubborn, we don't have time for this ridiculous behavior!" She yelled at the group, her voice filled with frustration. The sudden burst of anger stunned the group for a second before they composed themselves again. However, Naofumi noticed the group of soldiers standing huddled up behind a guy with a crystal ball.

(This feels wrong, it feels like a set-up. Just like back then with that bitch.) He thought to himself, and the moment that thought had left his mind a soldier like in slow motion, started to run at them while drawing his sword. Naofumi could see he had the intention of landing a lethal strike, but the soldier's gaze wasn't fixed on him or anyone else in his party, it was fixed on Melty.

(Well how is this going to bite me in the ass later?) He asked the universe before he pulled Melty into his embrace and expertly blocked the sword with his shield. The soldier quickly backed away with his sword pointed at Naofumi.

"Curse you devil! How dare you take the royal princess Melty hostage, GO MEN! JUSTICE IS ON OUR SIDE!" The soldier commanded, which all the soldiers followed without hesitation.

"Great I am devil now, Raphtalia, Filo!" He yelled out, and in response Filo and Raphtalia disarmed all the soldiers with ease, never going for a lethal blow.

"FULL RETREAT!" The soldier in the back with the crystal ball commanded, with a big grin on his face.

"Should we follow them Master Naofumi?"

"No need!" Megumin angrily retorted as she started to walk up, starting to suck mana from the air.

"YOU DARE TO TRY AND LAY A HAND ON MY FAMILY! YOU WON'T ESCAPE JUST LIKE THAT! {EXPLOSION}!" Megumin chanted as her crimson eyes flared up, but instead of a gigantic explosion that obliterated all of them, she aimed it underground which caused the earth under the retreating soldiers to fall apart under them.

The big rocks that splurged out from the ground ended up knocking out most of the soldiers, while it trapped everyone in a makeshift sinkhole. All the horses were unfortunately killed in the ruckus. Megumin wasn't done yet though, she was still walking towards the sinkhole, air, and mana around her distorted and sucked into her staff. She stopped walking and picked up the crystal ball that one of the soldiers had dropped when the earth caved in on them.

"OH, SO SOMEONE IS WATCHING, YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON THE SHIELD HERO EVER AGAIN AND I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL MYSELF!" Megumin yelled out, her voice roared through the terrain as it was magically amplified, before she proceeded to crush the crystal ball with her hand, while also sending a giant surge of mana through it, so that any other crystal balls connected to it exploded in a thousand shards of glass.

"MOM!" Naofumi yelled out, quickly snapping Megumin out of her anger, which caused the aura around her to abruptly vanish and she instantly collapsed from exhaustion.

(SCARY) Filo, Melty and Raphtalia thought at the same time, totally shocked by the feat Megumin had just mustered. They saw irrefutable evidence towards Naofumi being her son. Naofumi couldn't remember ever seeing his mother like this, but she had indeed acted like this when he was younger. The day he was kidnapped by a crazy fan. If it hadn't been for Kazuma, that man would have ended up with a broken neck instead of prison time.

"Hey snap out of it!" Naofumi ordered them as he started to run over to his mother's side. Her vitals seems to be just fine, but Chomusuke looked like someone had forced her to run a marathon. Megumin had probably sucked in all nearby mana, which included the cat.

"Filo take care of her for now, while me and Raphtalia will interrogate these bastards," He commanded quickly jumping down with Raphtalia to the half-buried soldiers, that were scared out of their minds.

He dragged one out of the earth and stared him into the eyes, "What is the big idea with trying to kill the second princess? What were you scheming? **Answer me!**" Naofumi clearly scared the man.

"I-I w-will never tell anything to t-the devil of the shield!" He stared back at Naofumi, he was afraid, but he wasn't going to talk. Naofumi threw him to the ground knocking him out, and shaking loose a piece of jewelry from the man.

"The three heroes church's insignia, so they were also behind this," Raphtalia deduced.

"Let us tie them up, and then see what to do from there," Naofumi said pulling out some rope.

**/Meanwhile in Melromarc's holy chapel**

"W-what happened?" one of the robed figures around the crystal ball asked nervously.

"I don't know, the ground just gave out under them, wait someone is picking the crystal ball up," Another said.

"**OH, SO SOMEONE IS WATCHING, YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON THE SHIELD HERO EVER AGAIN AND I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL MYSELF!"**

"It is the devil our pope warned us about, look at that insane look in her eyes, we won't even need to edit the images, this is perf-EEEEEH!"

"AHH, IT HURTS!"

"I CAN'T SEE!"

The lucky spectators went blind and would never see again as it exploded and shot tiny pieces of glass everywhere. One of the robed figures got a piece of the glass stuck in his throat and he slowly died as his lungs filled with blood instead of air. The head nun was lucky enough to keep her life intact, but the glass shards hit her in the eyes, her open mouth and her left ear. From that day forward the head nun would be blind, mute and only able to use one ear.

A high-ranking priest had it worst though, the glass shot into his face everywhere. He was blind in an instant, but despite the healers best efforts they weren't able to remove all the glass shards. First, they were worried about infection, but it would soon be clear that the crystal shards still took in signals. The signals were weak and jumbled, but it was like getting schizophrenia with all the non-sensical voices he heard every day. After four days he couldn't take it anymore and swallowed poison. The irony of it all was that he had always said that people whom commit suicide are weak and not deserving of heaven.

"Your holiness, I bring grave news, some of the most devoted followers of the church is now dead after the crystal ball incident."

"Do we know the cause behind it yet," The pope asked still wearing a stoic expression.

"Unfortunately, we don't, everyone that was there is either unable to speak or unwilling too."

"If they don't want to talk, kill them. God has no need for cowards in the upcoming war, and while the loss of our brothers and sisters hurts me, God wills it so, and who are we to refuse, now go!" He ordered his subordinate.

"If God commands it, I will perform my duty." He reaffirmed before he left.

"MY PLANS ARE IN RUIN!" He yelled in anger and threw an expensive bottle of wine at the wall making it shatter and spill everywhere.

"NOW WE HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW THE MASSES, no wait. We can still say the shield hero kidnapped princess Melty. If I am lucky they will end up destroying each other. Yes God is on my side, so of course my plan will work." The pope said to himself before he started to write a letter about how the devil of the shield had abducted princess Melty.

"Soon I will stand on top, and this country will be ruled by GOD!"

**Well that is going to be that for now, hope you enjoyed and see you next time. Where Kazuma will meet with Darkness again. While Naofumi needs to figure out what to do about his newly acquired group of prisoners. Then Kazuma needs to figure a way back to his family.**


	8. Devils and Queens

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 8: Devils and queens

**Kazuma is currently in Axel's teleport store haggling for a price, and unfortunately, they don't accept Melromarc's currency and he forgot to pick up any Eris from the mansion. The owner of the store also didn't believe that he was the real Kazuma Satou, because of a mix between his feats being glorified beyond recognition and all the people impersonating him. Yeah, apparently killing a demon king isn't enough, you also need to be virtuous, brave and handsome. Kazuma looked more like a man that sat around for most of the day doing nothing. There was one place he could acquire some Eris, and he was currently walking towards the founding store of Belzberg's biggest franchise, "Vaniwiz".**

Kazuma walked up to the front side of the store and looked at it, he remembered the times this store had been in the red, barely surviving on the little traffic his party gave it, and later thriving on Kazuma's Japanese inventions that he sold to Vanir.

(Lucky me, looks like it is little traffic today) He noted before he opened the door and he immediately heard a voice he recognized.

"WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU BUY SO MANY EXPERIENCE POTIONS?!" Vanir yelled in a frustrated voice at his friend and business partner, Wiz.

"I thought it was a good idea, they always sell well," Wiz tried to defend herself while trying her best to not sob.

"They sell well in WINTER, it is springtime, and does Moi need to remind thee that these Experience potions expire after 4 months, they will be worthless by the time they would be viable for sale!" Vanir continued.

"I-I am sorry, I thought it was a good idea to buy them since he sold them for so little, please forgive me Vanir," She pleaded with the devil.

"That is not the only problem, you also bought super-high-quality manatite, have you forgotten this is a starter town, that means the inhabitants here will never be able to afford it"

Kazuma just took a chair from the window and sat down, if he had popcorn that would just make this nostalgic scene better. However, Wiz in her frantic look for a way out of this uncomfortable situation landed her eyes on him, a possible customer.

"V-Vanir look, a customer, you promised to stop reprimanding me in front of customers," Wiz pointed to Kazuma that gave a quick wave to Vanir when his eyes landed on him.

"HAHAHA!" Vanir burst out into deep laughter as he saw the man and instantly recognized him.

"Moi sees no customer dare naïve shopkeeper, Moi sees an old business partner," Vanir answered with glee, the sight of Kazuma clearly invigorated him with energy.

"Who is he?" Wiz asked, clearly confused.

"This dare shopkeeper is the once young brat that in the past used to walk in here with a useless goddess, masochistic crusader and a crazy explosive loli, and he is now back again to sell a new invention to Moi," Vanir declared to his old friend, as he gracefully gestured to Kazuma.

"B-but th-that would mean, it is, Kazuma!" her gaze darted over to Kazuma to get confirmation. "KAZUMA!?"

"Yes, I am Kazuma," he said in his usual monotone fashion, which made Wiz leap across the counter and tackle him down into a bear hug.

"So good to see you again, would you like some tea, no cookies, how about muffins, I have some cake left, oh I got it what about some biscuits, what about-"

"STOP! I have been tackled enough the last couple of days," Kazuma half-complained as he didn't have any problems with huge boobs being pressed against him, but being tackled to the ground by very powerful people wasn't good for his back.

"Oh, I apologize, I didn't want to be a bother, I am just happy to see an old friend again," She timidly said as she helped Kazuma up off the floor.

"It is fine, I should have expected this by now, but onto more pressing matters, Vanir I am in need of some money, would you be interested in a new invention?" Kazuma asked with a sly grin on his face.

"Moi would be most interested in this new invention, does though have a working prototype?"

"Not on me at this very moment, but I am pretty sure I can make one right here and now, I have been working with them for a long time after all, in case I ever ended up here again,"

"Well, please make it for Moi, so thou prize can be set,"

"Bring me some materials first, I need some steel, high-quality carbon, gunpowder, oil, lead, bronze, and beer,"

"Moi can bring you the materials, while the shopkeeper will provide thee with your refreshments," Vanir complied in a bow.

After 30 minutes Vanir had provided Kazuma with all the materials he requested. Kazuma with his smiting skills started to make something this world had never seen before, he was making a machine gun and bullets.

"Vanir I need I place I can shoot this thing," Kazuma said as he loaded one of the bullets into his copy of an M4A1 and cocked it.

"Shoot the wall, not even that weapon should be able to penetrate the walls of this shop," Vanir said with confidence as he gestured to the wall.

"What is it Kazuma?" Wiz asked in astonishment.

"This is Wiz is a machinegun, but to put it into a perspective you can understand, this is a modern bow," he said gently patting the gun, "And this is a bullet, or thunder arrow if you want, it is easier to show you,"

Kazuma pressed down the trigger and an ear-deafening bang rang out through the local, as a tiny hole appeared in the wall where Kazuma had been aiming.

(A couple of earplugs would probably have been smart to make first) Kazuma thought to himself as he felt the painful ringing fade and his hearing returned.

"Moi is not interested in weapons, yes they might earn me a lot of money, but that would mean less food for Moi as you humans kill each other off," Kazuma instantly got a face filled with disappointment, which made Vanir grin even more.

"Mwahahaha, These dark emotions are wonderful, the disappointment from learning your invention is utterly worthless to me is terrific, Moi can, however, produce a few replicas of this for the dishonorable hero, for a price of course,"

"How much do you want for making 3 replicas and 10 000 bullets?" Kazuma asked suspicious of the devil.

"Moi wants all these worthless items this useless shopkeeper has bought sold off for the work with the weapons thou wishes to use to help thine eldest son, which will be 1 billion for each child that thou will procure," Vanir said with an evil smirk.

"Oh, how many will that be?!" Wiz asked.

"5 billion in total," Vanir confidently declared

"How did you know about Index?" Kazuma said in shock.

"WHAT!" Vanir and Wiz exclaimed, both equally shocked.

"Shit, you didn't know," Kazuma realized as his face grew beet red.

"Hahaha, Moi expected to get these dark emotions of embarrassment from revealing your night with thine explosive obsessed wife, but this is a great unexpected surprise. The price also increased to 6 billion Eris," Vanir said while overflowing with glee.

Wiz just stood by the counter as she stared at Kazuma with wide eyes, clearly, these news came as a big shock to her, and she didn't handle shock the same way Vanir clearly reveled in it.

"Wait, 6 billion, but that means,"

**/Meanwhile in Naofumi's carriage**

"UH, I am feeling sick," Megumin complained as she threw away the helmet she has just thrown up in.

"I have never seen you sick before mom," Naofumi noted.

"That is because I am never si-UHH," Megumin tried to protest as she bent over and threw up even more into another helmet.

"Well it would be troublesome if you got sick right now, the platter is kind of full already," Naofumi said with concern as he handed her another helmet.

"Master Naofumi helped me when I was sick, so in worst case scenario you will be fine," Raphtalia both praised Naofumi and reassured Megumin.

"_So soft,_" Melty mumbled half-asleep as she slept in Filo's feathers with Chomusuke laying on top of her head.

"At least someone is comfortable," Megumin noted as she looked at the three of them sleeping soundly while clutching her stomach.

"We should make a plan about what to do when those three wake up, any ideas Raphtalia?"

"Master Naofumi, our main task is to get rid of this bounty on us, right?"

"Correct"

"Then couldn't we just hand the princess back to the royal family?"

"No, that won't work since we don't know who wants to kill that girl or keep her safe, clearly even her own family wants her dead based on the soldiers to attack," Naofumi explained while handing another helmet over to Megumin.

"What about- _someone is watching us!_" Raphtalia suddenly whispered to Naofumi as she drew her sword.

"_Where?_" Naofumi whispered back while acting totally normal.

"_Up in the trees by the mushroom growth, one of the branches are bent unnaturally,_" Raphtalia explained as she started to stoke the fire with her sword.

"_Ok, _{Shield prison}!" Naofumi chanted surrounding the branch with a metal ball before it crashed into the ground waking everyone.

"FILO INTRUDER, ON YOUR FEET!" Naofumi shouted as Raphtalia jumped to the metal ball with her sword readied.

"Where are the enemies?" Filo groggily asked as she shook the two others off her, waking Melty and Chomusuke as the soft bed moved over to Naofumi.

"In the metal ball over there!" Naofumi quickly informed in a stern tone as he pointed towards the metal ball Raphtalia was aiming her sword at.

"OH!" The big bird exclaimed out in realization as she changed her expression and got behind the metal ball with her claws ready.

"On three I will release the spell, and then you two have to detain the intruder, understood?!" Naofumi ordered with a serious and intimidating expression.

"YES!" Raphtalia and Filo quickly answered.

"1, 2 and 3!" The metal ball disappeared just as Raphtalia and Filo jumped the intruder, not even giving them as much as a split-second to try and escape.

Naofumi stepped up to the intruder with his shield ready to cast another spell if necessary. "Who are!?" Naofumi demanded, but the intruder was clearly not intimidated by him, they didn't even as much as flinch.

"I am many things, but your enemy I am not, I dare say," a woman answered in a calm and collected manner like this was a daily occurrence for her.

"Oh, it is my shadow," Melty suddenly shot in as she got up behind Naofumi while sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Princess Melty, would you say you are in any danger?" The masked woman asked.

"No, the shield hero is the one that saved me from an assassination attempt orchestrated by my sister," Melty explained as formal as she could muster to be in her half-asleep state.

"How are you so certain it was only your sister and not also your father? It was his soldiers that were accompanying you," Naofumi quickly argues, still not fully trusting the newcomer.

"If my father would have been behind this despicable attempt on my life, I would most certainly be dead, now! Even if it hurts me to admit it, my sister is manipulative, spoiled and power-hungry," Melty reluctantly informed Naofumi.

"You called her "your" shadow, what is her role?" Raphtalia asked, not lowering her blade for even a second.

"The shadows are the eyes and ears of the queen and future queen of Melromarc, this one specifically is my protector, so would you please lower your weapons?" Melty asked in a formal manner.

"Master Naofumi, it is your decision," Filo and Raphtalia said while still holding the shadow down.

"If you try anything, or tell anyone where we are, I will personally hunt you down, UNDERSTOOD?!" Naofumi threatened.

"Very well, the queen will be informed that her daughter is well, but your travel plans and positions will stay confidential," The shadow confirmed with a tone that carried no emotions.

"Fine then, release her," Naofumi ordered, but still holding a spell ready if the shadow tried anything rash.

To the relief of Naofumi, the shadow slowly rose a few seconds after Raphtalia and Filo released them.

"May I examine your companion, to find out what has afflicted her?" The shadow asked while gesturing to the still throwing up Megumin.

"If you want to get close to her you must first, drop all your weapons, then, strip away your clothes," Naofumi commanded, which made all the girls stare at him in disbelief.

"You can ignore the sec-" Melty was cut off as the shadow started to speak.

"A careful man I see, the queen will be pleased to know her daughter is in such capable hands," the shadow praised Naofumi before she started to remove her cloak.

It was instantly clear that she was a well-built woman, as she removed more and more pieces of clothing and armor. Just as Naofumi expected the woman had all sorts of weapons behind her clothes. She carried daggers, a sword, a flint-lock pistol, a blowgun with darts, throwing knives and different bottles of potions and poisons. Clearly the shadow had no problems with being watched, nor did she give off any signs that she liked it.

"Also remove the mask, NOW!" Naofumi ordered, which the shadow quickly complied with.

"My face has been seen, but I beg of you to forget it," The woman pleaded.

"We won't remember you as long as you don't do anything we won't forget," Naofumi again threatened.

"Very well, but rest assured I am only here to help," The shadow informed before she walked over to Megumin, which was now drinking water.

"Would you be fine with me touching you?" The shadow calmly asked, which Megumin tiredly nodded too.

First, the shadow puts the back of her hand to Megumin's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever, have you eaten anything that the others have not?"

"No, we have all eaten the same meals," Megumin informed.

"Have you had any sexual relations recently?" She questioned which made Megumin start to blush slightly.

"_Yes, but whenever I have been pregnant, I get food cravings,_" Megumin whispered back to the woman inspecting her.

"So you have been pregnant before?" she asked.

"Twice,"

"When was your last pregnancy?"

"About 18 years ago," Megumin answered in a more collected tone.

"Have you changed partners since then?" The shadow was clearly unfazed by what Megumin said.

"NO!" Megumin quickly answered clearly offended by the question.

"{Life check}" The shadow chanted as a blue light emerged from her hand and she put her hand to Megumin's stomach, before she took her hand away, her hand now glowing green.

"You are pregnant, I dare say," The shadow informed in the same manner as always, before she stood up and walked over to her clothes, weapons, and armor. Quickly and efficiently redressing herself.

"I AM PREGNANT, AGAIN!" Megumin burst out in joy, now totally ignoring the nauseous feeling from just throwing up a few seconds ago. Which shocked everyone standing nearby, except of course the shadow that quickly vanished as the others rushed over to Megumin.

**/Meanwhile with the other three "heroes"**

"What a devil, kidnapping my poor defenseless little sister," Who… I mean Myne cursed with feigned sorrow.

"I promise you we will beat that moron into a pulp and safely retrieve her," Motoyasu said in a comforting tone as he tried to pet her head, but when the red wig started to shift she batted his hand away.

"Why would he kidnap the princess?" Itsuki wondered out loud.

"Yeah, what is it he could gain from holding the princess captive?" Ren retorted.

"He is clearly a beast that thinks of women as mere objects, so this doesn't surprise me in the least," Motoyasu butted in.

"It is clear to me that he wishes to extort the royal family by holding my poor naïve sister hostage," Myn… I mean whore explained to the other heroes. (That is at least what I would do.)

"What a stupid idea, how does he expect to get away with that even if he gets what he wants," Ren mockingly interjected.

"Sir hero, we found some tracks belonging to a wagon, with footprints belonging to a filolial," a soldier informed them as he ran back to the heroes.

"Follow it!" Motoyasu commanded as he started to run with the soldier, with the rest of the group quickly following after.

After a few minutes of running, they found an abandoned wagon in great condition, hidden behind some trees and leaves. The wagon had a note which stated:

**Well hello there idiots, I know you won't believe me but the princess isn't kidnapped, I saved her from an assassination attempt, and until that truth is known I am going to watch over her.**

Myne quickly set the note on fire before anyone else could read it. "That bastard is mocking us, we must kill that devil quickly, FIND THEM!" She ordered as the search parties started to spread out again.

**/Meanwhile with Naofumi's party**

"Why did we leave the carriage behind master Naofumi, Megumin is pregnant after all, wouldn't it be easier to move her around with it?" Filo questioned.

"Filo I am pregnant, not crippled," Megumin quickly protested as she started to walk past her with vigor.

"We left it behind since it is easy to track us when we have a carriage, and if they find it and doesn't burn it we will come back to it,"

"You promise?" she questioned hopefully.

"Yeah, I promise," Naofumi shot her a gentle smile as they kept walking up the mountain.

"Where are we going anyway?" Raphtalia asked

"To Siltvelt,"

"Why to Siltvelt master Naofumi?" She queried.

"Since the security is so high, probably means they don't want us to get there," Naofumi answered.

"Which means we are definitively going to get there," Megumin confidently stated.

"What makes you so sure lady?" Melty asked while trying to assess the confident mage in-front of her.

"Because whenever I have been out on an adventure, even if the road was bumpy, I have always reached the destination and been able to relax with my companions afterward," Megumin said with vigor and Melty could see experience emanating from her, like a shit-ton of experience, this woman was over-leveled beyond belief.

**/Meanwhile in Wiz's and Vanir's shop**

"Since Moi can't read thine thoughts about this child, the mother must be divine, so did you really have sex with that useless goddess?" Vanir asked with clear interest, a man that can predict almost anything had a tendency to never be surprised so this was great entertainment.

"NO! FUCK NO, that is just disgusting to think about," Kazuma quickly answered Vanir.

"Moi thinks to be in close relations with gods is revolting regardless, but if that waste-of-a-space-goddess was the mother to one of your children, Moi would certainly double the price," Vanir was clearly showing both relief and disgust, Kazuma couldn't decide which one was more prominent.

"Let us make a bet Vanir, if you can guess who is the mother to my 5th child, I will give you two inventions for free, but if you guess wrong you have to give me your help for free. Do you take it?" Kazuma said with a smug smile.

"Ah yes, Moi accepts these terms," Vanir quickly said while smacking his hand together.

"Go ahead then Vanir, guess,"

"Moi needs to think about it, there are three suspects that seem likely, Eris, Regina, and Wolbach. Regina definitively took a liking to you, and I can smell Wolbach all over you, but Eris is the goddess of luck, and you are extremely lucky. It would have had to have happened before you went to Japan, but the masochistic crusader took your virginity so it must have taken place after that. Moi remembers feeling a mighty magical aura descend from heaven, the same day you went missing. So since the other two are dark goddesses Moi would say, thou slept with the goddess Eris!" Vanir finally guessed after presenting his detective work.

"Fuck," Kazuma said as he just stood there looking dejectedly as Vanir burst out into more laughter.

"HAHAHA! The disappointment from thinking you are going to win just for Moi to rip the victory away from thine grasp as Moi solves the puzzle, it is quite nostalgic, to say the least."

"Ok, I am going to make you a phone prototype and cellphone tower prototype," Kazuma said while waving his hand.

"Wonderful, but right now it is in Moi's best self-interest to get thou to the capital, Wiz teleport this man so he can go and grab the money he needs to do business with me," Vanir suddenly ordered like a general.

"Are you ready Kazuma?" Wiz meekly asked

"Give me a sec," Kazuma said as he started to pat himself down, he would leave the gun and the bullets here with Vanir, but he needed the mask and the katana. "Ok, send me away," Kazuma said as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Say hello to Darkness from me, {Teleport}" Wiz chanted as a blue ring formed around him and in the next second he was gone from the store.

Kazuma suddenly appeared in the capital right next to a cabbage seller, which startled both the seller and all his cabbages. The ruckus escalated so much that some of the cabbages managed to escape their prison and booked it for freedom, making the cabbage seller run after them waving with his net furiously.

"Heh, if Darkness was here they would try to crash into her massive boobs," Kazuma remarked before he started to make his way to the castle.

When he got to the castle instead of wasting time trying to prove his identity he just used {Lurk} and went into the castle. Clearly none of the guards noticed him. Kazuma first wanted to check the throne room, which as luck would have it had the queen sitting on her throne with a bored expression.

She sat on the throne in a dress made out of gold and silk, and a shield pattern in silver sewn in at the edges of her dress. Her golden blonde hair was formed into neatly braided horsetail. If Kazuma didn't know any better he would've thought her boobs had gotten bigger. It didn't look like time had done anything to her either because her face looked just as flawless as he could remember.

(Well, she does look kind of tired, maybe a cold shower would wake her up) Kazuma thought as he raised his hand towards her. "{Create water}" Kazuma chanted, making a giant stream of water shoot out of his hand and instantly dowsing his old friend soaking wet.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED!? DID YOU DO THIS?!" She frantically questioned the man that just appeared in the room.

"Yes," Kazuma simply responded with.

"And what makes you think that suddenly spraying me down with ice-cold water would achieve?" Darkness queried trying her best to hide a smile at this sudden surprise.

"Let me see, it is the best welcome gift I could think of, for my masochistic friend after I return from Japan,"

Now Darkness just stood there in shock before she looked at him with some more scrutiny, "Prove it, what would Kazu-"

"{STEAL}!" Kazuma cut her off as he chanted his spell and a blue light formed in his hand, and when it resided he stood there with a pair of soaking wet panties.

"Hmm, white," Kazuma casually stated as he looked back at the still soaking wet Darkness.

"Kazuma," she uttered in disbelief, "Kazuma," she said as the realization started to dawn on her, "KAZUMA!" She screamed in joy as she leaped forward to tackle him into a bear hug. However, she only face-planted into the floor since Kazuma having learned by now what to expect took a sidestep to avoid his back getting smacked into the floor for a 4th time.

"Yes, I am Kazuma," He said in his usual tired tone.

"Why did you dodge?" Darkness asked clearly a little hurt (mentally), with a big smile on her face.

"Because it hurts to be smacked into the ground, that's why I dodged, plus you are soaking wet," Kazuma informed her with a cold and blunt tone.

"What are you doing here? Have you met our kids? How is Megumin doing? Have you had any children? When did you-,"

"CAN YOU SHUT UP, ONE QUESTION AT A TIME, but since you ask. I need your help, yes I have met Robin and Masaharu, Megumin is pregnant, and yes we already have 2 boys," Kazuma answered rapidly.

"Megumin gets to be pregnant for a third time, lucky," Darkness said with envy.

"How was being pregnant for you actually?" (For Megumin and me it was incredibly tiresome)

"Oh you know, in the beginning, I got headaches, then my boobs started to swell up, and later on I started developing some serious back pain. Then I had to give birth to twins and that is probably the most pain I have ever experienced at once," Darkness told him with a stupid smile on her face like she was reminded of great memories.

"So you had a great time in other words," Kazuma said taking her out of her daydreaming.

"I wouldn't say that," Darkness tried to protest, "but I wouldn't mind having another baby with you," She said shooting him a seductive smile.

"Darkness," Kazuma said in a firm tone

"Yes,"

"I am married, and I am not going to cheat on Megumin, unless,"

"Unless what?" Queen Lalatina asked with great interest

"She explicitly allows it," Kazuma said as he looked at Darkness hang her head in defeat.

"But what do you need me to help you with exactly?" Darkness asked.

"I need you to come with me to another world and defeat an evil goddess, so that my son, your godson, doesn't have to risk his life for a job I didn't finish properly 20 years ago. So what do you say are you interested?" Kazuma quickly explained before he popped the question.

"Another adventure with you and Megumin?" She asked in disbelief

"Yeah, and Iris," Kazuma quickly added.

"Someone has to watch over the kingdom if I am to come with you, and I can't elect a deputy other than Iris to take over my duties," The queen said in despair

"Can Iris pick a deputy?" Kazuma asked curiously.

"Well yes, but being a queen, even if just for a little bit is still a hard job, who would have the competence to take such a job?" Darkness asked.

"Our daughter, of course, she is trustworthy enough isn't she?"

"Robin is trustworthy enough, but I think Masaharu is the one that would be most suited to handle and deal with all the requests coming from the kingdom, Robin likes taking things at her own pace, while Masaharu likes throwing himself into hectic situations, like rush hour in the restaurant," Darkness explained.

"Then, what about just letting them both be a monarch for a month, they can make sure the other one doesn't abuse the power given to them," Kazuma suggested

"That is so smart, I wish you had been around when we had the butter crisis last year Kazuma," Darkness praised him.

"Well thank you, La-La-Tina," Kazuma said teasingly making her flustered.

"Don't use that," Darkness said as she tried to hide her tomato-red face behind her hands.

"Heh, still funny,"

"I will send a call for Iris, Robin and Masaharu then," Darkness said as she clapped her hands together which made a group of people storm into the room.

"Queen Lalatina why are you soaking wet?" the leader of the group asked with big eyes.

"Not important right now, send word for princess Iris, and my children, time is of utmost importance," She ordered with trained ease, making them all scurry away.

"Hmm, {Freeze}," Kazuma chanted making the sopping wet Darkness freeze over like a popsicle, but after a few seconds she broke out of it, which also broke off all her clothes.

"Kazuma you brute, first you freeze me and force me to stand completely naked in my own throne room," Darkness complained while grinning from ear to ear.

"Nah, I just had to see if you were in shape for this adventure,"

"Then why are you staring at my boobs?" Darkness shyly asked.

"Well you are not covering them up, and I am easily distracted," Kazuma excused himself.

"I can't cover them with only one hand, I mean PERVERT!" She tried to protest

"Here put these on for now," Kazuma said as he threw her a pair of black panties.

"Wait, are these Megumin's panties?" Darkness asked in shock.

"Yeah, let's say that," Kazuma quickly answered as she started to put on the panties. (You are married, you are married, you are married, look at the ring, look away from the mostly naked masochist and look at your god damn wedding ring) Kazuma yelled inside his head as he finally forced himself to look at the ring. "Ah red, my wife's favorite color, WAIT SECOND RED!" Kazuma yelled out in distress as he looked back at the ring that was now blinking red.

**/meanwhile with Naofumi's party**

"Why did you have to stumble like that 2nd princess, I told you to be careful," Naofumi complained as they ran full speed away from the search party following them.

"It's not my fault the stone just suddenly gave after!" Melty complained as she tried to keep pace with Naofumi that was currently dragging her along by the arm.

"Less squabbling and more running children," Megumin ordered from the back.

"Just past this rock and we should be able to get- STOP!" Naofumi suddenly halted as he realized there was a 50-meter drop straight down, and not more mountain to run on.

In bitter realization, they turned around to see not only Motoyasu and whor… I mean Myne, but also Ren and Itsuki, with about 30 soldiers on horseback. While Ren and Itsuki looked serious Motoyasu looked like he had just won a million gold pieces and it was smooth sailing from here.

"That's it you got nowhere left to run, you are surrounded, even you have to admit that!" Itsuki stated matter-of-factly while gesturing to all the soldiers behind him.

"So cease your resistance and release princess Melty at once!" He ordered.

"What is it with this release business, it's not like I have her tied up or anything" Naofumi protested.

"Quit lying to us, we have all the proof we need now," Motoyasu interjected.

"Please sir heroes, the shield hero kept watch over me making sure I was safe," Melty defended with a much more mature tone than earlier

"Wait a minute this whole thing is happening because Naofumi abducted you," Ren said now clearly confused.

"This is all a misunderstanding, you see someone is plotting to have me killed, I asked him to take me with him and protect my life," Melty calmly explained.

"He is protecting you, come on?" Ren spits out with spite clearly showing in his voice.

"What advantage could the shield hero possibly stand to gain by abducting me?" Melty challenged, making Naofumi nod his head and loving these reasonable words being spoken on behalf of him.

(Hey maybe we don't have to fight our way out of this one, Melty seems to be convincing them) Naofumi thought hopefully.

"The queen told me, this is the time for us all to work together, it's the only way we will be able to thwart the catastrophes," Melty suddenly shot her arms out to the sides, meaning she was addressing everyone there, "Our world can't withstand any more of these ridiculous pointless conflicts. Put your weapons away, please," Melty pleaded with them, finally, Naofumi could see them showing some leniency.

"Like she said, this whole thing was a setup from the very beginning, I have no secrets I will tell you everything I know, and th-"

"I command you not to listen to him, that lying devil possesses a brainwashing shield, it allows him to take over your mind by simply talking to you, it's the most dangerous weapon he has," that BITCH interrupted Naofumi as she started to spout lies as easily as she wasted oxygen by staying alive.

"Who would believe something so stupid and silly," Raphtalia tried to protest, but this woman was on roll.

(Unfortunately for us Raphtalia, there are a bunch of idiots that would fall for that with her) Naofumi thought to himself.

As the reason for all Naofumi's suffering kept lying to everyone, Megumin went over to her son's side and whispered, "_Can I use my explosion on her?_" she asked trying her best to hold back her anger as her crimson eyes lit up.

"_Not yet, we need to get further away from them first,_" Naofumi reasoned.

"He has even allied himself with that little devil that the pope of the three heroes church discovered recently, so that is undeniable he truly is the devil, because our dear pope would never lie," She kept going with her lies.

"Sister, you are mad!" Melty uttered in disbelief, one thing was knowing your sister was a bad person, but seeing her extent of evil in person was a totally different thing.

"Melty, my dear little deranged creature, it's obvious that the devil of the shield has already brainwashed you," The deranged sister herself said with fake pity.

"I see that means Raphtalia and Filo were brainwashed by Naofumi too," Motoyasu declared his deduction with confidence and glee.

"No you're wrong! Master Naofumi hasn't brainwashed any of us!" Raphtalia protested.

"If my shield really had the ability to do that we wouldn't be in this damn situation to begin with," Naofumi added, but he knew the chances were slim of him convincing them of anything now.

"Do we have a guarantee that it can't, what kind of proof can you give to convince us that you are not lying," Ren argued, making Naofumi sigh.

(These guys would never be on my side) He thought to himself

"Naofumi, hand over the princess right now and no one will get hurt. I promise you she won't be harmed in any way," Ren tried his best to reassure him, but it really had the opposite effect.

"You know, if we can avoid all this fighting, I guess it might be for the best," Naofumi said as he looked for an escape route, for when all this most certainly turned into a shit show.

"You are absolutely right sir Ren, I am so glad we all agree that Melty's safety comes first," The snake… sorry snakes aren't that bad, I mean Myne said as she buttered up to Ren, while shooting a death stare to her younger sister, making Melty tense up.

Melty grabbed ahold of Naofumi's green cape and gripped it for dear life, catching his attention.

"Come let's all go home together now," Myne said while stretching out her arm as a kind gesture, but for everyone able to see her eyes, it only looked like she offered death to the recipient.

"_No, if I go I will be killed,_" Melty whispered to Naofumi, the realization that her own sister would have her dead really hurt her. Knowing that someone she was supposed to be able to trust and love, hated her so much that she wanted to kill her really hurt.

Naofumi looked back at her, and he could see the feeling of betrayal coming off the little girl, and couldn't help but empathize with her, before he looked back at the monster in front of him, as she opened her arms, even more, looking like she was ready to give her little sister a big hug. Melty now only saw a pair of arms that would most certainly break her neck at the first opportunity.

"Please sir hero, please help," Melty desperately pleaded while tightening her grip around Naofumi's cape, in response, he rested his hand on hers reassuringly before he stepped forward and covered Melty with his shield.

"You know Ren, I have to say your offer is generous, but I just do not trust that woman with the princess," Naofumi said as his expression turned serious and unreadable.

"What are you suggesting?" Ren asked, while Naofumi silently gave Raphtalia orders, which she relayed to Filo and Megumin.

"What is that devil talking about now, Melty is my dearest little sister I wouldn't dream of-"

"COME OFF IT LADY YOU ARE NOT FOOLING ANYONE, YOU WANT TO BE CROWN PRINCESS SO BADLY YOU WOULD KILL YOUR OWN SISTER!" Naofumi yelled as he pointed an accusing finger at her, making her flinch.

"I would never," she tried to protest, but Naofumi interrupted her again.

"YOU WILL SAY YOU ARE UNDOING THE BRAINWASHING AND THEN KILL HER WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING! I bet that is exactly what you are planning," Naofumi kept on, before he redirected his attention to Melty, "_Don't forget I promised to keep you safe,_"

At that moment if you could see inside Melty's mind you would see her dreaming about being in Naofumi's protective arms because she fell for him hard right there. However, the daydream was cut short when Naofumi started barking orders.

"FILO NOW!" He commanded as everyone plugged their ears with Filo's feathers, Megumin plugged Chomusuke's ears before she placed her in her bra.

"OK!" Filo confirmed as she turned into her filolial form and let everyone get on her back.

"Ready when you are!" Naofumi uttered as Filo gave a quick nod before she sprinted headfirst towards the bitch, the fuckboy, knock-off Kirito, and the disastrous Robin hood. Just before she was about to connect she took a hard right.

"{Airstrike shield} NOW!" Naofumi chanted as a green shield appeared in front of Filo, which she used a springboard to run up the mountain wall before she kicked off the mountain and did a majestic flip, straightened out as they started to glide towards freedom.

"Not so f-!" Motoyasu yelled as he tried to throw a cursed metal bracelet towards Filo, but one word would thwart his plans.

"{EXPLOSION}!" Megumin yelled as everything behind her turned white for a second before an ear-deafening boom erupted. She had, of course, aimed it up in the sky so the explosion wouldn't hit them, but it would (un)fortunately not be able to kill anyone of the people pursuing them. However, she did blow the eardrums of everyone that didn't plug their ears. Everyone that hadn't closed their eyes would go blind for the next few days. The spectacle, of course, shocked everyone still standing on the hill into silence. The power they witnessed and felt that day was unfathomable, and they had never seen anything like it before.

Every search party in near vicinity rushed to the location, but when they arrived they only found a group of shocked soldiers and heroes staring mindlessly at the now dark sky. Naofumi and the rest were now long gone, but the memories of what Megumin had done there that day made every soldier that had seen the power of her explosion magic first-hand desert the army as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, the pope with the help of princess Malty's retelling was easily able to recruit more followers after that, and hunting down the "devil of obliteration" became a top priority, right after retrieving princess Melty and killing the "devil of the shield".

**/2 hours later in Naofumi's camp after they have been able to sit down**

"WOW! GRANDMA, YOU ARE AMAZING!" Filo erupted out in praise as she finally got to sit down and rest.

"FILO!" Naofumi scolded.

"Sorry master, I didn't think we needed to hide that grandma is your mother from Melty anymore," Filo tried to excuse herself, which just made Naofumi facepalm.

"Sure tell her everything Filo, not like she can be kidnapped or anything," Naofumi pointed out to his feathery friend.

"WHAT!" Melty exclaimed in shock as she shifted her gaze between Megumin and Naofumi so quickly one would think her eyes were about to roll out of her head.

Suddenly a shadow appeared out of the bushes, getting everyone on guard, only calming down when it started to speak since everyone recognized the voice.

"We meet again sir shield hero, I come with an urgent request from her majesty the queen herself," The shadow said still calm and collected but with urgency now present in her voice.

"With the queen," Naofumi said in astonishment.

"The roots of this conspiracy go deep you understand, I dare say we would appreciate all the help you could give, this abduction and the events leading up to it were set up by the ones that find you accomplishments alarming," The shadow explained.

"Great, more pains in the butt to handle," Naofumi complained. "What exactly would I gain from meeting with her?" Naofumi questioned still skeptical about this queen.

"I have no doubt you will understand after you have met, I dare say," The shadow said as Naofumi looked over at his now sleeping mother and when he looked back at the shadow she was already gone.

Naofumi looked a little shocked at first, but he quickly pulled out a map over all the known territory, "The queen is in the opposite direction of Siltvelt. Hey, 2nd princess, you know anything about this country?" Naofumi questioned, which Melty only answered with a "humph."

"Oh yeah, 2nd princess you know how to use magic don't you, what magic can you do?" Naofumi questioned.

"_Don't call me that,_" Melty muttered.

"What was that 2nd princess?" Naofumi questioned since he didn't hear her.

"STOP CALLING ME SECOND PRINCESS!" Melty suddenly barked back at him, clearly annoyed by it.

"What has gotten into you all of the sudden?" Naofumi asked clearly confused by this sudden outburst before she indignantly sat down next to him.

"I have a name and it is MELTY! Why on earth do you keep on calling me second princess shield hero, you keep treating me as if I am only an outsider," Melty complained.

"You are the only one around her calling me shield hero you know," Naofumi expertly pointed out.

"Well then, I will have to call you Naofumi and you can call me Melty, so tell me Naofumi what is it going to be?" Melty queried for an answer.

"_Straight for his first name,_" Raphtalia whispered loud enough for herself to hear as she looked dejectedly at the scene transpiring in front of her.

"Well second princess it's like this-" Naofumi teased.

"Hey, WAIT!" Melty objected.

"OK, Melty, happy now?" Naofumi questioned as he finally relented.

"Once more, please," Melty pleaded.

"Huh," Naofumi said in surprise while Raphtalia started to pout at this sudden development.

"Say my name one more time," She now demanded.

"Fine, Melty," Naofumi relented, he didn't really want to start quarreling with a kid over such a small thing anyway.

"Good," Melty said as she looked away from him to hide her now blushing face, before she continued, "And I suggest you don't forget it either, one more thing, thanks for that," Melty said clearly pleased with herself.

Raphtalia irritated by the actions of the princess rose up from her seat and removed herself before she did anything stupid.

"Hmm, what's up," Naofumi questioned clearly seeing something bothered Raphtalia.

"Nothing, I am fine, just forget it," Raphtalia said but suddenly something caught her attention. "Where is that smell coming from?" Raphtalia wondered.

**/Meanwhile with Malty and her group of pyromaniacs **

"Ready, set, FIRE!" Malty ordered making all the archers let loose their arrows and all the mages fire a fireball the size of a basketball.

The forest started to take fire until a big raincloud formed over the fire and started to rain down furiously. It was almost like someone had cast a water spell because the cloud formed so quickly and it poured out so much water that the fire quickly died after only killing a few trees. Which simply was unnatural.

"Find out who cast that rain spell!" Malty ordered.

The soldiers started to search, they quickly spotted some blue hair disappear behind a tree, but before they could get there they suddenly heard Malty's voice dish out orders again. "Get back to camp we caught the water caster," The soldier not thinking anymore about it went back to Malty.

"Why are you idiots here, I told you to go search for the person that just cast a rain spell," Malty complained as she facepalmed, which made the soldiers look at her in confusion before they realized they had been tricked. However, the person that cast the rain spell was long gone, and the rain cloud kept spreading, so there was zero chance for Malty's plan to be executed. The trees would have done a happy dance if they could.

**/Meanwhile in Belzberg's throne room.**

"I have summoned you all here for a very important mission," Darkness said, now redressed, and her hair was tied up in a free-flowing ponytail like so many years ago.

"What is so important mom?" Robin complained a little bit, Kazuma could see she looked like she had lost something valuable and Chris looked content with herself.

"Yeah, I need to figure out how to make dragon meat taste good, so I am actually really busy," Masaharu complained while flipping his knife around in his hand.

"I have brought you here today because I and Iris are going on an adventure of utmost importance with your father, and Iris has agreed with me that you two shall act as equal monarchs while we are gone," Darkness explained.

This statement got both twins to go wide-eyed in shock as soon as they heard the news. "But mom, I don't have any experience with ruling people," both twins said in total synchronization as if they had practiced it.

(Heh, a twin cliché) Kazuma thought to himself as he looked at his kids' protest.

"We don't have anyone else that we can entrust something like this too, so you two better do a good job, you are both wise and clever, so controlling a country is something you both should be able to handle if just for a little bit," Darkness reassured them as she brought them both into a big bear hug.

For Masaharu, it was a comfortable hug which he gave back with full strength, but for Robin, it was liked getting a steel arm around you and getting your face pushed into a pillow. The hug didn't last longer than a few seconds though, so Robin survived without any injuries.

"Thanks for believing in us mom," they said as Darkness stepped away from them.

"Very well then, with that over, bring me my armor and sword, Sebastian," Darkness ordered, while Iris was already ready for battle in her armor and sword.

After a few minutes, Sebastian returned with a pitch-black dark armor and a two-handed sword, "Your majesty your armor and swords," Sebastian presented it to her, as she raised her arms, giving the sign to her servants to equip her with the armor, which they promptly did. After a few minutes, Darkness now stood there in a pitch-black armor with her sword drawn.

"Look Kazuma, don't I look awesome in this armor?" She questioned

"Yes, but can you hit anything with that sword?" Kazuma asked in a mocking tone.

"Uhm, about that-" Darkness suddenly started to blush profusely.

"No, it is fine Darkness, I know you can't hit a target unless it literally throws itself at you, I need you for your defense and stamina, Megumin is the firepower," Kazuma explained, making Darkness just blush more.

"You don't need to publicly humiliate me like that Kazuma!" She yelled back at him in frustration.

"Says the masochist," Kazuma pointed out.

"I DON'T LIKE THIS KIND OF HUMILIATION!" Darkness protested.

"Ok, but we got to get to the hill outside the city, we are going to meet someone that hopefully are able to get us to the world where my son and Megumin currently are," Kazuma cut off Darkness' protests as he started to drag her out by her ponytail, with Iris walking by his side.

"Chris, aren't you going to come with us?" Iris questioned.

"No, I got something else important to do, see you guys later," Chris said as she scratched her scar and waved them goodbye.

After about 20 minutes of walking the finally reached their destination, but no one was there, which made Iris and Darkness look around, and they couldn't see anyone on their way to the hill or going away from the hill.

"Who are we waiting for Kazuma?" Darkness asked.

"Oh you will see when she gets here, she will be here any minute now," Kazuma answered.

"What do you mean, we are on a hill and we can't see anyone approaching us, if someone were to get here it would take them at least 20 minutes," Iris protested

"You will see," Kazuma said, and the next second as on queue the sky erupted out in a blinding silver light. "Oh, she is here," Kazuma stated with his usual bluntness.

"Wait, is this who I think it is?" Darkness asked while shielding her eyes from the light with her hands.

"If your guess is Eris, then yes," Kazuma quickly answered.

"Wait, THE ERIS, THE GODDESS ERIS!" Iris and Darkness exclaimed in pure shock.

"Yes, that is me," Eris confirmed with her angelic voice as she set foot on the soil next to Iris and Darkness. The girls were star struck to put it simply, before they both started to prostrate themselves in front of her.

"Kazuma, why aren't you bowing? You have to bow when the goddess Eris herself is in front of you," Darkness and Iris questioned with urgency showing in their voice.

"No please, there is no need for that, just treat me like you would treat an old friend," Eris pleaded with them, but the girls wouldn't budge.

"We couldn't possibly treat you like an old friend when we have barely met you, much less spoken to each other before," Darkness protested her face still stuck to the ground.

Kazuma just grinned wildly as he heard her statement, it was for some reason really funny for him. Something Iris just couldn't understand how all of this came so naturally to Kazuma. Before she remembered that Kazuma had probably met Eris a lot of times since he had died so much in his early adventuring days.

(Kazuma also doesn't have common sense, since he is from Japan) Iris thought to herself, but she didn't dare to budge from her position.

"Eris just let them stay like that until they get tired, have you found a way for us to get to Naofumi and Megumin?" He questioned.

"I have found three actually, but I will let you pick," Eris informed them

"Three you say, let us hear," Kazuma said with hope brimming in his eyes.

"The first one is the safest one, but also the slowest one, I have to somehow smuggle you through heaven, and get you to that world without any of you being detected, and if you are detected you will be killed and sent to hell on the spot," Eris informed them.

"Let me hear the two others first, being sent to hell seems kind of harsh," Kazuma noted.

"Method number 2 includes me merging my world with the two worlds already being merged by Medea, it would essentially mean I declare war on her where the winner takes all the power. It would put all the people of this world at risk and I stand a chance of being obliterated, however, you will be free to travel between my world and the two worlds she is merging for as long as I am able to withstand her," This option seemed to make Eris nervous so Kazuma asked for the third one.

"The third method would essentially be me throwing you into the void with the hope of you hitting the right world link, if you place a teleport checkpoint here you would be able to get back if you failed, and if you finally succeed you can make a teleport checkpoint in that world and teleport freely between my world and the world you ended up in. You might suddenly end up in a lava world or something like that, which would mean instant death so the chances of success are microscopical. So which one do you pick?" Eris questioned which made Kazuma super nervous.

"Yeah, let me think about it, but first I have to go to Vanir and Wiz and pick up a few things, which reminds me I need 6 billion Eris, can you guys fix that for me?" Kazuma questioned.

"That is a lot of money Kazuma," Darkness protested.

"What if I, goddess Eris said that Kazuma must get the money with the utmost haste, would that change anything?" Eris asked rhetorically already knowing the answer.

"If my goddess commands it, I can't refuse," Darkness quickly said in fear of having offended Eris.

"Then get going!" Eris ordered which made both Iris and Darkness start sprinting towards the city, Kazuma barely managed to jump on Darkness' back before it was too late.

"We will be back in 2 hours!" Kazuma yelled back and Eris gave a thumbs up to that before she disappeared in another silver flash.

First, Kazuma got the 6 billion Eris he needed before the castle mages teleported him, Iris and Darkness to Vanir and Wiz, which had prepared 6 wagons full of experience potions, 1 wagon filled with high-quality manatite, and 1 wagon filled with bullets and three guns. However, Vanir didn't let Kazuma go before he had written the blueprints for both the cellphone, cellphone tower, and made the prototypes, which took a long time. He also learned teleport from Wiz before she teleported them back to the capital.

When the whole entourage appeared the cabbage seller that had just recaptured all his cabbages got spooked and lost the cage, which broke open the new cage containing the cabbages letting them scurry away again.

"DAMNIT!" The cabbage man yelled as he ran after them with his net, but this time it was much easier to catch them, since they all crashed into Darkness' boobs, making her moan loudly.

"I KNEW IT!" Kazuma suddenly exclaimed. Iris and Darkness just looked at him totally confused, but they didn't bother asking what he knew.

After 30 minutes of travel with all the carriages being dragged for them by horses, they finally arrived at the hill. Eris reappeared and the girls again started to prostrate themselves for her.

"Which method have you decided to choose Kazuma?" Eris asked, fearing he would pick option number 2.

"Eris, it obviously has to be option three, you can cast {Blessing} on me a bunch of times, then you can with confidence chuck me into the void," Kazuma said.

"Kazuma even if I cast {Blessing} on you all day, the chances of you getting to the world you want are still so small that it is almost pointless to even cast it in the first place," Eris argued.

"You are the literal goddess of luck, I am sure it is going to work," Kazuma said confidently.

"Very well then, you have picked your option," Eris relented as she started to furiously cast {Blessing} on Kazuma.

After 30 minutes of being blessed Kazuma felt like he was invincible. First, he placed a portal checkpoint on the hill before Eris opened the rift into the void. The feeling of invincibility quickly vanished when Kazuma was thrown into the void and he felt like a speck of sand on the beach. Despite this Kazuma was still lucky enough to safely land into the world Naofumi was, he landed in his son's makeshift camp nonetheless. Raphtalia that was on guard duty was extremely shocked to see Kazuma just suddenly faceplant right in front of her while everyone was sleeping.

"Are you ok Kazuma?" Raphtalia asked, still a little wary on if it actually was Kazuma.

"Yes, I am fine, just give me second," Kazuma said as he put down another teleport checkpoint before he suddenly vanished again, and two minutes later he reappeared with 8 wagons and two beautiful women blonde women. To say Raphtalia was shocked wouldn't even start to explain it.

**I am going to end the chapter here. Sorry for taking so long to post anything, but this chapter has been really hard to get right I feel. I hope you liked it though.**


	9. Reinforcements

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 9:

**Raphtalia is currently silently waking Naofumi at the request of Kazuma, while he is waiting outside the tent with his two old companions. Upon seeing his father again Naofumi is suspicious of if the man in-front of him really is his father, and who these two other women could possibly be. In the meantime the other idiots… I mean heroes, are searching for Naofumi and the princess, but most of all the "demon of obliteration," or as a normal person says it, Megumin (Satou/Iwatani).**

"If you truly are Kazuma, prove it by telling me something only he would know," Naofumi demanded, much to his father's approval.

"When you were five you had gotten your head stuck in a tree, and after your mother had gotten your head out of there, you got the "brilliant" idea to try and trick me into putting my own head into it by telling me you lost your book into the hole, only that your plan didn't work because you didn't account for me having longer arms then you. The funny thing is that I wouldn't have known you tried to trick me if it hadn't been for your little temper tantrum about how I cheated," Kazuma ranted on making Naofumi let out a sigh of both part relief and annoyance.

"Ok, yeah it is him alright, but tell me, who are these two?" Naofumi gestured to the two women in their own respective armor, his suspicions now turned into curiosity.

"First, let me introduce your godmother, Darkness, or if you really want to annoy her you can call her Lady Dustiness Ford Lalatina, or Lalatina for short," Kazuma said much to Darkness' chagrin.

"I have told you not to call me that!" She exclaimed in frustration as she grew a little bit red.

He ignored her complaints and went on with the introductions. "And this is my eldest son Naofumi, he is the **shield** hero," Kazuma said as he emphasized the word, instantly making Darkness stare intently at the 20 year old man standing in front of them.

"Did you say shield?" Darkness uttered in pure shock.

"I did indeed say shield," Kazuma reaffirmed.

(Great dad, now I am going to get an earful about how bad the shield is, AGAIN!) Naofumi thought, but he was then shocked when the busty woman dragged him into a bear hug.

"Why is she hugging me?" Naofumi questioned.

"My noble house is of the shield, and my godson is the shield hero, I couldn't be happier right now!" Darkness exclaimed as tears of joy ran down her cheeks.

"The better question is, how are you not getting crushed in her bear hug?" Kazuma uttered in disbelief when Naofumi showed no problems of breathing.

"Ok, enough," Naofumi instantly got out of the bear hug without any problems as soon as his father said that, making Iris and Kazuma trade confused looks.

(There are 2 possibilities as to how Naofumi could do that, 1. Darkness has grown weaker as the queen of Belzberg, while Megumin has grown stronger, or 2. Her level was reset when we got to this world) Kazuma thought to himself.

"Darkness what is your current level?" Kazuma asked.

"Last time I checked, it was 350… ONE!" She said as she saw the number flash up in front of her.

"You went up a level since you traveled here?" Iris asked confused by her reaction.

"No, it just says one, I am back at level 1," Darkness explained making Iris get her own level up, and she nearly passed out from shock when she saw that her level had gone from 800 to 1, so much so that Kazuma had to hold her.

"Darkness go and drink EXP potions, while I introduce Iris," Kazuma ordered, and the crusader didn't need to be asked twice.

"So, is this, what was her name again, Lalatina's younger sister?" Naofumi asked trying to wrap his head around all that just went down, wondering if it was always this crazy and hectic when his father used to go adventuring.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Lalatina yelled from the carriage she was currently guzzling down EXP potions from.

"No, this is crown-princess Iris of Belzberg, she is kind of your aunt," Kazuma explained as Iris leaned more into Kazuma's hold, forcing him to pick her up in a princess carry.

"If everything goes right, I will be your step-mother," Iris playfully remarked, as she rubbed her head up against Kazuma's chest.

"WHAT!?" Raphtalia and Naofumi said in shock.

"She means she wants to ask Megumin for permission to be my 2nd wife," Kazuma quickly explained, before any questions about his loyalty towards Megumin popped up.

"1st royal wife," Iris cheekily shot in.

"Why do you want to marry my dad?" Naofumi asked.

"Well, I have kind of been engaged with him for 22 years ever since he slayed the demon king, and 23 years by my own standards," Iris explained.

"It's a long story, I will tell you another time, but what has happened here after I disappeared?" Kazuma expertly redirected the conversation.

"Ehm, well, I will give you the short version, while traveling we saved the crown princess of Melromarc from an assassination attempt, only for us to be blamed with kidnapping her. After being cornered by the other three stooges and their party members. That bitchy princess made everyone believe I can brainwash people with my shield, we had to do a masterful escape with the help of mom's explosion while flying away on Filo, that is why we are here now," Naofumi quickly summarized.

"That's my boy, expertly evading capture from the idiotic authorities, you even utilized your mother's explosion, I am really proud of you," Kazuma praised his son.

"Thanks dad," Naofumi said nonchalantly, but Raphtalia could notice he smiled a little, only enough for her to notice though.

"I was also really impressed by how you and your party took out that soul-eater under the wave, and recognized that I needed healing when I was fighting Glass, couldn't really tell you though, since I got teleported and all," Kazuma kept on, it was rare for him to praise people like this, but this whole situation was pretty rare.

"Thank you, Kazuma, I will be sure to tell Filo" Raphtalia said as she generously accepted the praise.

"Now then, Iris would you please go and drink EXP potions?" Kazuma asked, while nudging his head towards the carriages.

"But I am so weak now that you have to carry me there," Iris lied, but Kazuma just carried her over to the carriages, not wanting to start an unnecessary discussion.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, you have to join my party," Kazuma said, which they promptly figured out how to do. Kazuma put Iris under Megumin, and Darkness under Iris. Then he walked back to his son and Raphtalia.

"Ok, let us sit down, what I am about to tell you is very important so listen well," Kazuma took on a serious expression as he gestured for them to sit down, where no one from the camp could see or hear them.

"What is it dad?"

"Son, I hate clichés where someone keeps information from their loved ones to keep them "safe," so I am just going to put this straight," Kazuma said as he looked down at the ground, Naofumi could swear it looked like his father was ashamed of something.

"What is it you want to tell us?"

"See the whole reason all these waves are happening is because of some power hungry goddess called Medea, the waves happen because she merges worlds she has gained control over together after having killed the specific god residing over each world," Kazuma explained as his foot started to shake nervously.

"How do you know all of this?" Naofumi and Raphtalia queried.

"The goddess of fortune, Eris told me, Medea has been doing so ever since you were five Naofumi, and at this point she has merged 8 worlds down to two, this one we are in right now, and the other that probably Glass is from," Kazuma went on explaining, making both Naofumi and Raphtalia go wide-eyed.

"There is something you haven't told yet, right," Naofumi could tell from his father's expression, which made Kazuma go totally still as he prepared himself to tell them, taking deep breaths in and out to prepare himself.

"Yes, when I was your age, I had the chance to stop Medea for good, but I couldn't go through with it… I am so sorry, but I couldn't force myself to go through with it," Kazuma's tears started to collect in his eyes, as his voice became strained.

"What do you mean? What was it you had to do?" Naofumi questioned, while Raphtalia went silent.

"I had killed her, t-then I revived her, so she couldn't get revived again, I then proceeded to torture her to break her mind and soul, but the process was too horrific, and I only managed to do it for 6 hours, I felt like a monster so I just simply ended it by killing her a second time by chopping her head off. But all that did was just create this huge mess, because the gods of judgement gave her a role as a goddess, since the man she "loved" had not only killed her twice, but also tortured her. My actions gave her merit to become a goddess, my actions were so deplorable that a demon king's daughter became a goddess," Kazuma explained his voice hoarse and his face streaming with tears and his hands shook nervously

"Why did you do all that in the first place?" Naofumi needed to know, how his father that mostly sat around tinkering with his inventions every day could, or rather ever would commit such acts.

"To protect Megumin, to protect her from being obliterated from existence, by the very same woman I was torturing, in the beginning it was easy with that in mind, but then I started to see how much pain I was inflicting, and I didn't see how I could deserve to call myself human when I was ripping and healing someone apart for hours," Kazuma couldn't keep himself seated anymore and fell forward onto the ground and started to cry.

"I-I am s-so s-sorry s-son, if I ha-had been stronger that day, you wouldn't have needed to go through all of this, IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" Kazuma cried into the ground, he wouldn't dare to look his son in the eyes because of all the shame he felt.

Naofumi stared at his prostrating father, he could tell that his father hurt from reliving this memory, and now that added with all the guilt of having your child summoned to another world, all because of an old enemy. How had he felt when he thought that his actions had killed Filo, and hurt Raphtalia. It was a horrible feeling, he would easily kill someone that hurt any of them, but when he knew he was the reason for their dismay then what else could you do than try to fix it, and say sorry, and even that felt like he did nothing.

Naofumi rose from the log he was sitting on, and kneeled down next to his crying father. He put his hands on each of his father's shoulders. "Look at me," his tone stern and commanding as he started to try and lift Kazuma's head, which Kazuma reluctantly did. Taking a minute before Kazuma was able to look his son in the eyes.

The same pair of green eyes staring back at each other, one filled with tears, shame and regret, while the other pair was void of all emotions. "You say you did all that for mom, which means you did all that for us, for me and my brother, to protect us, and I don't think you stopped the torture of that woman because you were too weak, I think you stopped because you couldn't call it love if you had destroyed someone else's soul, I know you can easily justify killing someone if it saves someone else, but totally ripping someone out of existence is on another level, so even if I am in all of this shit because of some crazy bitch, I am proud of calling you my, **dad!**" Naofumi stated calmly, before he wrapped his father into a hug.

"_thank you, __**son!**_" Kazuma was able to utter, his relief was indescribable, his son didn't resent him. He was proud of him, even after all the shit this world had thrown at Naofumi, he was still able to call him son. Tears continued to stream down Kazuma's face, but this time it was tears of joy.

After a minute of hugging they pulled away and sat back down on each their log as Kazuma started to wipe his face. They let silence take over as the only thing they could hear was the sound of the wood from the fire pop occasionally.

"Thank you Kazuma!" Raphtalia suddenly broke the silence, her tone filled with indescribable joy.

"For what?" Kazuma asked confused.

"If you hadn't shown mercy that day, I would never have met Naofumi, and for that I am eternally thankful," Raphtalia said as she grabbed Naofumi's arm and gave it a squeeze as to reaffirm her words.

"But-"

"No, buts, you are the main reason I could ever meet Naofumi, and for that I am grateful far beyond what I can express," Raphtalia said as she left no room for discussion on the matter as Kazuma realized something, as he looked at the gaze she was sending Naofumi.

(She loves him, she loves my son way beyond what I initially thought, oh my I am blind as fuck, but he loves her as a daughter, I GOT TO HELP HER) Kazuma thought as his eyes shot wide

"Dad it is ok, I have forgiven you," Naofumi said as he tried to soothe his father.

"Yes, and I am ever thankful for that, but I can't have you cleaning up my mess, I am going to send you somewhere safe, while me and your mom takes this godly bitch down once and for all," Kazuma explained.

"Where is this safe place?" Naofumi asked, clearly curious.

"It is pretty much my 2nd home, you are going to the kingdom of Belzberg, and you are going to live with your grandparents, of course Raphtalia and Filo can come with, since they are precious to you, while we can protect the crown-princess," Kazuma explained to his son.

"Wait, I can get out of this world, HOW!?" Naofumi exclaimed in disbelief.

"Indeed you can, no need for you to risk your life for your old man's mistake, you can go and live a relaxed life back in Axel with Raphtalia and Filo, while I take care of things here," Kazuma said as a smile spread across his face at the thought of his son being safe, and maybe Raphtalia had gotten through to Naofumi by the time they got back from pummeling that fake goddess.

"This is wonderful, I can finally leave this shitty world for good, I will go and wake Filo immediately," Naofumi said as he actually smiled and ran to the tent Filo, Chomusuke and Melty slept in. Miraculously not waking anyone else than Filo.

"Why did you wake me master?" Filo groggily complained.

"Look over there," Naofumi said pointing to Kazuma.

"Master you are smiling, what is it you are point- GRANDPA!" Filo joyfully exclaimed as she leapt onto Kazuma and started to hang from his neck.

"Good to see you too Filo," Kazuma said as he returned the hug.

"OK dad, you told me I can get out this shitty world, how do we do this?" Naofumi queried, clearly excited at the prospect of getting to relax.

"Wait, you are leaving us?" Filo asked with concern in her voice.

"No, you and Raphtalia are coming with me, but we are going somewhere safe," Naofumi answered her with a reassuring smile on his face.

"Is Melty also coming with us?" She asked.

"No, but my mom and dad will take care of her while we are gone," Naofumi said with a smile as he lovingly ruffled Filo's hair, easily convincing her.

"Ok I need everyone to hold hands, and in three seconds I will teleport us away," Kazuma instructed as all four of them started to hold hands. "Ok, in, 1, 2, 3, {Teleport}" Kazuma chanted which made a blue circle appear around them, before everyone got electrocuted by Naofumi's shield.

Naofumi felt a light tingle, Raphtalia and Filo felt a little shock, while Kazuma was on the ground twisting around in pain from the electrocution.

"{First heal}" Naofumi chanted as Kazuma got a green glow around him, which quickly faded away, making Kazuma stop rolling around in pain as he got up.

"What went wrong this time?" Kazuma asked as he looked at his son for an answer.

"Oh, this warning just popped up, **Heroes are not allowed to invade other worlds,**" Naofumi read, which made both father and son bash their fist into the ground, angered by this stupid rule.

"Well, looks like we will have to do this the hard way after all," Kazuma complained as he sagged over to Megumin's tent.

"Goodnight dad," Naofumi shot in before his father disappeared into the tent.

"Master Naofumi, can I also go to sleep?" Filo and Raphtalia asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, I want to talk with those two anyway," Naofumi said pointing towards the two women that was currently pumping themselves full of EXP potions. Filo looked at them with mild curiosity but she was too tired to care as she sagged into Naofumi's tent with Raphtalia, where they instantly fell asleep to their master's scent.

"So, how did you two meet my dad?" Naofumi questioned the two ladies that was currently sucking down EXP potions like no tomorrow.

"Well, I met your father when I was 17 and he 16, I asked to join his party, and do you know what he told me,"

"Yes?" Naofumi guessed.

"First ,he made me wait a whole night for an answer, and when I came to the guild the next morning he quickly rejected me without hesitation, it is one of my fondest memory," Darkness smiled as she explained.

"Then how did you join my father's party?" Naofumi asked now confused.

"I tried to convince Aqua and Megumin to let me join, before your father went into great detail of what the demon king might do to me if I were to be captured, but even after showing my total dedication towards killing the demon king he still wouldn't let me join," Darkness explained as her smile got even wider.

"Let me guess, also a fond memory,"

"How did you know? Never mind, your mother and father are both quite perceptive so this is to be expected of their son," Darkness quickly deduced.

(Or you are just easy to predict) Naofumi and Iris thought to themselves.

"How **did** you join his party then?" Naofumi asked again, now a little irritated by Darkness' tangents.

"Ok, so the annual cabbage harvest struck as we were talking in the guild, I couldn't hit any of the cabbages so I resorted to use myself as a shield to protect the other adventurers, as cabbage after cabbage hit me at high velocity, slowly stripping my armor away allowing the other male adventurers to stare at me with lustful eyes, but then your mother cast her explosion and I was so lucky to be in the center of the blast," Darkness retold as she stifled a moan.

"Wait, did you just say you tanked one of my mother's explosions?" Naofumi uttered in disbelief.

"Yes, I did indeed, but it was nothing near the 2nd explosion she cast on me a few months later, I was possessed by this demon king general named Vanir, and the only way he would agree to die was by Megumin's explosion, I passed out from how intense that blast was," Darkness said with a stupid grin on her face, which made Naofumi slowly back away from her, as he realized that this woman was a bit crazy.

(If this is my first godmother, how the fuck is my other godmother)

"So, Iris, how did you meet my dad?" Naofumi questioned, preparing for an equally bad shit backstory.

"After Kazuma and his party had defeated not just one, but four demon king generals, they were invited to the castle were I met your father, at first sight he looked like all the other "great" heroes, but then he started to tell me stories about his adventures, and they were truly exciting." Iris explained as she had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"While many of the other heroes only talked about their successes and none of their hardships, they kind of seemed too perfect for me to find interesting. Your father, on the other hand, told me about both his fiascos and troublesome party members, as well as the ridiculous ways they defeated the generals," Iris chuckled at the last bit.

"Hmm, that sounds normal, surprisingly so, but how did you end up engaged with my dad?" Naofumi asked.

"Oh that is a great story, so your father broke into the castle with Darkness' closest friend Chris, disguised as the chivalrous thieves to retrieve a dangerous relic that was on me at the time, they made a huge commotion, but they outsmarted all the guards and a hero named, I think his name was Katsurugi, before they reached my room, but they were both in such a hurry that they had to use {Steal} to hopefully grab the relic off me," Iris explained with a gentle smile on her face.

"My dad didn't get the relic did he?" Naofumi guessed.

"No, he got the ring meant for my fiancé, but I didn't mind him having it, and when he later gave me this ring, I counted us as engaged," Iris said as she flashed the cheap ring to Naofumi.

"How old were you back then?" Naofumi wondered out loud.

"I was 13, and your father was 17 at the time," Iris quickly stated.

(Ah, I see why he didn't marry her back then, because she was jailbait) Naofumi thought to himself.

"How does these actually taste?" Naofumi changed the subject as he picked up an EXP potion.

"It is really great to drink these, I love how they feel when they go down," Darkness complimented as she drank two more in quick succession.

"I might as well try one, since I haven't reached level 40 yet," Naofumi stated, totally missing the mischievous smile Iris was wearing as he put the potion to his lips and took it down in one painfully long gulp.

It was like forcing a giant pill down your throat, how could anyone like this, wait, he should have figured this out from who praised the potion, and who stayed very quiet. After having forced the potion down Iris smiled at him deviously, as she drank 5 of them in quick succession, seemingly without any problems.

"Showoff," Naofumi complained as he went around to inspect what the other carriages contained.

"Potions, potions, potions, crystals, food and other supplies, potions, guns and ammo, wait, GUNS! Ok, dad don't give a shit about game balancing, the best guns I have seen so far in this world are flint-locks, can I use one of these?" Naofumi pondered as he tried to pick up an AR only for him to get the standard electrocution and warning.

"Well, that is unfortunate, but maybe he can teach Raphtalia to use one, when we aren't being hunted that is, these make a lot of sound after all," He theorized as he wandered around the camp in deep thought.

**/the next morning**

Megumin felt warm and safe when she started to wake up, like someone was embracing her. First, she noticed an arm protectively laying across her stomach, the arm led to a man sleeping next to her and that man looked like Kazuma.

(If this is a dream I don't want to wake up) Megumin thought to herself as she snuggled up closer to him, and used his other arm as a pillow.

"_Kazuma,_" She whispered in a daze.

"Yes, I am Kazuma," He stated in his usual nonchalant tone breaking her out of her half-asleep state.

"AH, why did you have to ruin my dream, I dreamed that I woke up next to-" Megumin's complaints stopped abruptly as she looked in disbelief at, "KAZUMA!" She screamed in joy as she launched herself forward into Kazuma's embrace, which he promptly returned.

"Wait, if it is really you, tell me something only we would know," Megumin scrutinized him as she pushed him a little bit away.

"Never hold your hand when you are giving birth, you crushed mine on Naofumi's birthday, but I learned from it, so you crushed the nurse's hand instead of mine in round 2," Kazuma said while waving around his left hand as proof, which made Megumin a little flustered.

"Couldn't you bring up something less embarrassing, never mind, Kazuma since you are here I got some big news for you," Megumin excitedly said as she tried to grab his attention.

"I bet you my news are bigger," He confidently stated.

"I will take that bet, ok on 3, 1, 2, 3,"

"I am-"

"You are-"

"PREGNANT!" They exclaimed simultaneously.

"WAIT HOW DID YOU KNOW?" They yelled at each other in equal shock.

"A naked woman casted {life check} on me and when her hand lit up green she declared me to be pregnant, mixed with me being sick and throwing up," Megumin answered.

"Vanir told me," the moment he said that Megumin silently cursed that devil for ruining her surprise.

"Well, I am not going to have a tie, come with me I got more things to show you," Kazuma said as he dragged her with him out of the tent to see Iris standing there nervously.

"IRIS!" Megumin yelled in shock as she laid eyes on the armored princess.

"BOSS!" Iris yelled back in joy as she jumped forward and tackled her into a hug.

"Heh, I am not the only one that gets tackled that is good to know," He noted.

"You have grown up so much," Megumin noted as she looked at Iris' boobs then back at her own in slight disappointment.

"Thank you boss, you almost haven't changed at all since the last time I saw you," Iris complimented as she looked Megumin over. "Other than longer hair that is,"

"How did you get here?" Megumin asked clearly puzzled to see her junior again.

"Kazuma teleported all three of us here after Eris tossed him into this world from Belzberg, or something like that," Iris happily explained.

"What do you mean all "three" of you?" Megumin questioned her tone now having changed to a deadly serious one as she looked behind Iris and saw Darkness nervously waving at her. "Oh, I see now," She said her tone void of any emotion.

"Eh, what is going on?" Naofumi questioned his father as he felt the atmosphere change from a happy, warm and jolly to an icy cold one.

Kazuma looked down on his own ring now flashing red, indicating Megumin was getting really emotional, but not even her eyes lit up. (She is holding her feelings back) Kazuma thought as he studied his wife's mannerisms.

"Lalatina, it has been quite some time hasn't it," Megumin calmly stated as she walked over to her.

"Yes, Megumin, it has been quite some time, I hope you are doing well, you look absolutely stunning, like you haven't even aged a day," Darkness complimented in return.

"Thank you Lalatina, you look like… you have… come here to help I presume," Megumin said in a restrained tone as she stared at Darkness with the warmest eyes she could muster.

"Indeed I have come to help, however I have not been totally filled in on the details on what we are going to do, or what the situation currently is," She tried to keep her tone steady as she felt guilt start tugging at her.

"In that case I am most pleasured by having you here with us Lady Lalatina," Megumin forced herself to say with feigned warmness as she presented her hand to Darkness.

"So am I," Darkness reaffirmed the statement as she took the hand of Megumin in her own, and to her great dismay it was a normal firm handshake. She didn't try to avoid her hand, nor crush it to a pulp, it was a firm and disturbingly normal handshake.

"Very well then, would you fill us in on the situation Kazuma?" Megumin questioned as she took ahold of his arm and laid it across her neck like a scarf, as she simultaneously leaned her head onto his chest.

"_What are you planning?_" Kazuma whispered to Megumin.

"_I can't hug her, and I can't hit her, since they would basically be the same to her, I got to reprimand her by being gentle and normal, don't reveal that I am happy to see her yet, I want to see her squirm a little more,_" Megumin whispered back, as she sent him an evil smile before she leaned in and kissed him.

"_Heh_, Ok, first of all, Melty and Filo, these are my companions Lalatina-"

"Don't call me that!" She instantly complained.

"Sorry, the busty one in dark armor is Darkness, and the far sexier one is Iris, they will be accompanying us from now on," Kazuma explained, as a got a scowl from Darkness.

"Where did you guys come from all of the sudden, with all of these carriages?" Melty asked in astonishment.

"We teleported here," Kazuma answered rather simply, which seemed to satisfy Melty's curiosity.

"Ok so here is the plan for getting out of the forest without being recognized, First, we will deconstruct all the carriages into one big one that Darkness can drag,"

"Why can't I drag it?" Filo interrupted.

"Because your Filolial queen form is too noticeable, if you were able to look like a normal filolial then you could drag the carriage," Kazuma explained as Filo transformed into a normal looking filolial.

"Wait, you could do that all this time?" Kazuma said in shock.

"Yes, but it is uncomfortable, so I prefer to be in my true form," Filo explained as she started to wonder how big carriage she was going to pull.

"You can pull it then, Darkness will be the backup, then it comes to the construction of the new carriage, we will make a fake bottom and a fake top to store the ammunition and manatite crystals, at the same time we will make the back of it hollow enough for 2 adults to hide in, while, we will make the driver seat hollow and big enough for 2 children to hide in, this is after we add the pillows in to make it both comfortable and hard to easily notice that the rooms are hollow," Kazuma explained as he started to draw a sketch of how it would look in the end.

"Damn, that is smart, but shouldn't you add extra planks to the top to make it more structurally sound," Naofumi interjected as he looked at the sketch.

"Ah, you are correct, I will fix that," Kazuma said as he rewrote the sketch, but this time Megumin picked it up.

"Based on all the weight we will be carrying shouldn't we put more wheels on to distribute the weight more evenly, and we should definitively make each wheel bigger to give it more surface area," Megumin explained as she rewrote the sketch for Kazuma.

"Thanks Megumin, but wouldn't all these changes make us stick out more?" Kazuma challenged his wife.

"It would, but we don't want to risk this thing falling apart while we are traveling, and it is not like we have created a steam engine or anything, so people won't pay that much attention to us even if we do all these changes," Megumin argued back.

"Fine, but I am going to lead the building," Kazuma relented.

"Sure, but let us begin," Megumin said smacking her hands together as the building project began, and after a few hours of vigorous work, Kazuma, Megumin, Iris and Raphtalia was out of energy, while Darkness, Filo, Naofumi and Melty sat down relaxing. Melty wasn't tired since she made the food, while Darkness, Naofumi and Filo seemed to have endless stamina.

After dinner was eaten they started to load the new carriage meticulously, all the manatite in the fake top, while they loaded the ammunition and guns into the fake bottom together with the few EXP potions that were left, then they took a bunch of the empty potion bottles and stacked them on top of the signs to the fake bottom. After that was done the food and other normal items were loaded on, Kazuma then placed a carpet in the top to make it look bulgy, and if someone touched it they would just feel that is was a carpet with nothing else above, unless they went even further up.

"Now then, our roles shall be divided, so listen closely," Kazuma took the lead, like he was used to and Naofumi listened in and took notes.

"Raphtalia and Naofumi will be hiding in the bigger back compartment, while Megumin and Melty will take the front compartment,"

"WAIT! Didn't you say that the back compartment was meant for 2 adults, while the front was meant for 2 children," Megumin interjected.

"Dear, we both know, and acknowledge that you have a petite body type, both Raphtalia and Naofumi are the taller than you, and we need to use the space we have most efficiently, so since you are closer to Melty's size, you need to sit with her," Kazuma argued back making Megumin pout a little, but she relented in the end.

"What about me and Iris?" Darkness shot in.

"You will be Lalatina," Kazuma simply stated, which made her flustered.

"Why do I have to use that name?" Darkness asked in her unusual shy manner.

"Because A. you are a terrible liar, and B. it sounds more normal here than calling yourself Darkness," Kazuma argued back also getting her to give in.

"But what about me, what role do I get?" Iris questioned.

"Before you get your role, you need to ask Megumin that important question," Kazuma said as he flashed her a smirk.

"That question?" Kazuma nodded. "NOW?" Kazuma nodded again. "Ok, Megumin could I get to talk with you in private for a few minutes?" Iris shyly asked as she went over to the woman she regarded as her boss, and close friend.

"Of course, you can ask me anything?" Megumin said with a loving smile as Iris lead the way to a private area.

"So what did you want to ask me that you needed to be in private," Megumin asked Iris, her smile shining with confidence.

"You promise you won't be mad?"

"I promise I won't be mad, no matter what you ask, you can tell me anything," Megumin again reassured her.

"I want to marry Kazuma, could I get your blessing?" Iris asked, her eyes shining with hope.

"Come again, what did you just say?" Megumin asked, unsure if she heard the question correctly.

"I asked for your blessing to marry Kazuma, I want to become his 2nd wife?" Iris said again, now with more confidence.

Megumin stood there staring at Iris in disbelief for a few seconds before she suddenly burst out, "WHAT!?" the sound of her shock rang all the way back to the camp.

"I, Belzberg Stylish Sword Iris, crown princess of the kingdom Belzberg, would like to marry your husband Kazuma Satou, with you explicit blessing," Iris formerly stated, as she looked her straight in the eyes.

"You still want to marry him?" Megumin looked at her for an answer.

"Yes, ever since he broke into the castle and stole my ring I was certain of it," Iris answered with pure honesty.

"Even after all this time?" Megumin uttered in disbelief at seeing the conviction and sincerity oozing from her eyes.

"Always! Just like you Megumin, I was worried sick for him when he was kidnapped, I worked hard to find him, but even then I felt like all my efforts paled in comparison to yours. Your mother had to force you to sleep, and that was after you had been up for 5 days straight trying to find him, and she even had to cast it 20 times before you gave in, and even after that you only slept for 2 hours, I lost to my sleep after 2 days of tireless searching," Iris praised Megumin.

Megumin looked at the sincerity from Iris and was stunned speechless, and when Iris saw this she continued.

"When he was found again, I wanted to hug him, I wanted to keep him all to myself, but back then I knew that if I did so, I would betray my most trusted friend, so I sent for you, but you were of course already on your daily visit, the commitment and love you have shown for him is something I think I could never come anywhere near, but I would like to try, and I will accept your answer regardless of what it might be and continue to be friends. So what is your answer Megumin" Iris finished, her gaze filled with hope.

"Iris…" Megumin began, but she didn't know what to say or rather what she wanted to say. From her point of view Iris had done more, while she felt like she went into an obsessive frenzy. So why was she idealizing that, that month was maybe the lowest she had ever felt.

"Yes!" Iris gripped Megumin's arm tightly in anticipation.

"I don't know, I really don't know, what if I told you no, would you respect my decision and not try anything with Kazuma?" Megumin asked, now her turn to grip Iris' arm tightly in anticipation.

"Of course I would respect that," Megumin could see she was sincere, without a trace of deceit.

"What if he came onto you, would you still turn him down then?" Megumin asked, she needed to know, would she truly accept it if only she said no.

"That would be hard, but if you had told me that I couldn't, I would have to turn him down. I want what you and Kazuma have, I don't want to be like Darkness with children I don't feel I deserve, if I have children with Kazuma, I want to be able to tell them about all the things he has done while he sits next to me, if he is going to be my king I want to be worthy of calling myself queen," Iris spoke with so much sincerity and truth that even a blind person could see it.

"Then I can give you my honest answer," Megumin said with a hurt smile, Iris also truly loved him, but she valued their friendship more. It wasn't like Darkness that disrespected her relationship with Kazuma, Iris only wanted to be a part of it.

"Which is?" Iris' words loaded with anticipation and hope.

"I give you my blessings to marry Kazuma," Megumin said as Iris' tears started to stream down her face.

"Really?" Iris couldn't believe she had gotten to hear those lovely words, she could really be with the man she loved. The best part was that she wouldn't lose her friendship with Megumin. This was an unbelievable dream come true. Her tears just kept streaming down her face as she looked at her friend.

"I do have some requirements though," Megumin said as she tried to wipe away Iris' tears.

"Let me hear them, I am certain I can complete them," Iris' resolve didn't falter, she would move mountains if she had to.

"1st. You are engaged until I have given birth to a girl, if anyone is going to give birth to a girl, it is going to be me, his first wife, you can kiss him, but no sex before marriage," Megumin stated, which sent joyful tears down Iris' cheeks as she heard the news, that was so easy.

"But Darkness-"

"Doesn't count, she is not his wife, plus Naofumi is probably the oldest child of Kazuma regardless, since he is born on July 10th," Megumin stated confidently.

(Eris' child doesn't count either, she is neither his wife, but I still feel sorry for her)

"You have to go into more details, because Darkness' twins were born on the 10th of July as well," Iris reluctantly informed her friend.

"TWINS, SHE HAD TWINS! In the morning, at 7:10 AM, don't tell me she had both twins before that," Megumin now nervously pleaded.

"Good news, Naofumi is Kazuma's oldest son, but oldest child goes to Darkness' daughter Robin, she was born 4:20 AM, while Masaharu was born 4:20 PM," Iris informed her as Megumin instantly turned around and started to sprint back to camp, with Iris following after.

When Megumin came storming out of the woods with Iris right after her, with visible signs that she had cried, Kazuma expected that she was denied, but then Megumin straight up sucker punched Darkness and sent her flying into a tree.

"YOU BITCH, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD GOTTEN TWINS!" Megumin roared, which for everyone expect Kazuma and Iris looked like Megumin was about to straight up kill Darkness.

"Dad, shouldn't we stop mom?" Naofumi asked a little worried, but after what Darkness had told him last night he was a little confused about how he should feel.

"Nope, she is just giving her a late "nice to see you again," greeting," Kazuma stated calmly as he walked over to Iris to wipe away her tears.

"That really hurt, you do still care about me!" Darkness uttered in realization.

"OF COURSE I CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU IDIOT, WE ARE FRIENDS RIGHT!" Megumin yelled as she punched Darkness again.

"_Did she say no?_" Kazuma whispered to Iris, which she just answered with a kiss.

"_No, she said yes, but we only get to have sex after she has given birth to a girl,_" She answered the moment she released him from the kiss, the scene of Iris and Kazuma kissing shocked Filo more than the scene of Megumin beating up Darkness.

"GRANDPA IS CHEATING ON GRANDMA!" Filo yelled out as she pointed at Iris and Kazuma, which caught everyone's attention except for Megumin and Darkness.

"WHAT!?" Melty was the only one to yell out in shock as she looked at Kazuma and Iris kissing again.

"I AM NOT CHEATING! Megumin said it was fine! RIGHT MEGUMIN?!" Kazuma tried to get reassurance from Megumin, but she was too busy beating up a now crying Darkness, which looked really wrong from an outsider's perspective, but Kazuma knew those were tears of joy.

"You know, I am just going to go and sit down in the carriage until things calm down," Naofumi said as he walked over to the carriage.

"Yeah, I will join," Raphtalia stated as she followed after him.

"ME TOO!" Filo energetically stated as she started to run circles around Naofumi.

"I guess the carriage would be a more fitting place to be right now," Melty stated as she took hurried steps after Raphtalia.

"Megumin did say yes right?" Kazuma asked now a little worried.

"Yes, she told me I could marry you," Iris happily stated as she went in for another kiss, which Kazuma stopped, he just needed to be extra sure.

"Megumin you did say yes, right? Hey can you focus on me for like a second," Kazuma said while waving his hand in front of her face, finally catching her attention.

"Huh, oh yeah I gave her my blessings, but no sex before marriage, and no marriage before I get a girl, understood?!" Megumin said as she stared daggers at Kazuma, which he quickly nodded to.

"Then Iris can play my fiancé without any problems, and I will be the merchant Thomas Essler," Kazuma proclaimed as he put on the mask he had gotten from Vanir.

"Is she still awake?" Iris asked pointing to the grinning Darkness.

"One quick way to find out, LALATINA!" Kazuma yelled into her ear, but it solicited no response from her.

"Nope, I bet she passed out from pleasure, you shouldn't spoil her like that Megumin," Iris jokingly reprimanded.

"I am not going to carry her, you two can figure this one out," Kazuma quickly excused himself as he ran over to the carriage.

"You punched her you carry her," Iris argued.

"I allowed you to marry Kazuma, and you told me about the twins, so you carry her," Megumin argued back.

"How about you take her legs and I take her upper body, would that be a fair compromise?" Iris questioned.

"Ehm, ok, I am fine with that, since I can avoid carrying 90% of her weight," Megumin joked as she pointed to Darkness' chest, which made Iris chuckle.

**/Meanwhile in Melromarc, the throne room**

"YOU STILL HAVEN'T FOUND HER! IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MELTY I WILL HAVE EVERYONE OF YOURS MISERABLE HEAD ON A PIKE!" Trash… I mean the king of Melromarc threatened as his voice seeped over with anger.

"Yes sir!" The knights leaning in front of him said in unison as they rose from their kneeling positions, never raising their heads.

Melty is in the hospital, because she needs her hair fixed, oh and her ears too, but she is pretty much deaf to anything people says about her so how much difference does it really make.

"This can't happen to my family again, how much do you intend to make me suffer, THAT CURSED SHIELD!" The king yelled out, clearly worried about his daughter's safety, but also filled with immeasurable rage.

If anyone was here now he would have been so easy to manipulate, oh so easy. Luckily all those who could or would done something like that was not in near vicinity, since they had other more important business to attend.

"And now I have to deal with another demon, what is next a dark goddess, like the waves wasn't enough," King Aultcray complained.

**/Meanwhile back in camp**

"Have anyone seen Chomusuke?" Megumin questioned as she couldn't remember seeing her familiar all day.

"No, maybe-"

"_achoo!_" A muffled sneeze came from a steaming pot, so Kazuma and Megumin checked it out, and there they found Chomusuke floating around in a bucket in what seemed like an improvised steam bath.

"How long have you been here?" Kazuma questioned as he made eye contact with the black cat's eyes, which made the cat shoot out of the bucket like a rocket as it clawed itself tightly onto Kazuma, as she started to purr and sniff him.

"Seems like she has been missing you too," Megumin remarked.

Suddenly Chomusuke looked up at Kazuma and meowed, "Nyan?" which translated to (Why do you smell like my junior, Jake?)

"What is it Chomusuke, oh yeah I met Jake while I was in Axel, he is really big now, he almost accidently flattened me when he pounced on me," Kazuma answered as he gave the cat some head pats, much to her liking.

(Hmm, I guess he is as fast as the wind just about now then, his smell is really laying thick on you, if a white tiger met you now they could accidently perceive you as a mate, but if you cuddle with me, over time his divine aura should eventually be dominated by my own,) Chomusuke thought as she rubbed herself onto Kazuma.

"The others seems to be busy, so Megumin, how did Iris convince you?" Kazuma asked as he got closer to her while petting Chomusuke.

"You are not my property Kazuma, and I know you liked spending time with Iris from way back in the day, we had to literally rip you out of the castle, or you got thrown out by the royal guards every damn time," Megumin reminisced with a smirk.

"Yeah, but has to be some other reason, didn't you tell me she was your rival?" Kazuma pushed on.

"She admitted defeat, or rather she knows that I am more dedicated to you than her, but what really convinced me was that she accepted to lose you entirely to me, she would truly have accepted my decision, so I can share with my best friend, because in the end I will always hold the biggest piece of your heart," Megumin said with a smile.

"Neither of you hold the biggest piece of my heart," Kazuma informed her with a smug smile.

"Excuse me, then who does?" Megumin asked in shock.

"My children, I will always save my children, I never want to go in my child's funeral, I have however accepted that I might have to walk in yours," Kazuma told her as he looked straight into her crimson eyes.

"Does that go for all your children?" Megumin asked.

"Of course it does, even for the ones I have never met," Kazuma answered without hesitation as he put his hand to her stomach and looked to the skies.

"So, I am even 2nd to yours and Eris' child?" Megumin asked as she looked at Naofumi loading up the carriage with the last pot.

"Yes, that you are," Kazuma confirmed, as he flung his arm around her and pulled her close.

"I understand, I would put our boys before anything or anyone, but it still hurts to hear it, but I understand it, and I just love you more for it," Megumin calmly stated as she leaned more into his embrace.

"MEOW!" Chomusuke shrieked as she got mushed between Kazuma and Megumin, totally ruining their moment.

"Sorry Chomusuke!" They both quickly apologized, in return Chomusuke climbed onto Megumin and dug herself down in-between Megumin's bra and tits.

"Are you sure you want to sit there, Megumin is going to sit in a dark, small room that can get hot rather quickly," Kazuma informed the cat, but she stayed put.

"Meow!" (You had me at dark) Chomusuke meowed, which she received a generous amount of head pats from Megumin for.

"Yes, my familiar is finally starting to show her devoted loyalty to me," Megumin proudly stated, as she started to walk towards the carriage.

"Ok, have everyone that is going into a hiding space been to the toilet?" Kazuma questioned when he sat down in the front, next to Iris.

"Yes!" everyone stated in unison.

"Ok then, Megumin help the princess in first and then I will help you in, Naofumi, you and Raphtalia have to figure out who is going to go first in, the last person in must spoon the other," Kazuma informed.

"Raphtalia do you-"

"I would like to go in first," Raphtalia quickly stated, as a blush started to emerge on her face.

"Are you developing a fever, your face is flushed," Naofumi asked in a worried tone, akin to that of a father.

"N-no, I am fine," Raphtalia quickly said before she stepped into the room, with Naofumi following after and laying his arms around her protectively.

(YAHOO!) Raphtalia internally screamed as she got to feel the protective presence of Naofumi around her, and they were going to be on this trip for hours.

Kazuma closed the hiding spots and put more empty potion bottles in the front while he just rolled a passed out Darkness onto the back entrance, which was really challenging to him, because of her armor. He then lastly placed the mask on his face as he sat back down next to Iris, which started to lean on him.

"Why are you smiling?" Iris asked.

"Oh, no reason," (My son is smart, but he doesn't recognize when someone has fallen in love with him) Kazuma thought as he gave signals for Filo to move.

"This is the best carriage so far, so much weight, I love this!" Filo happily stated as she started to drag the carriage.

"Remember Iris, my alias for now will be the merchant Thomas Essler, you are my fiancé and we are traveling with your older sister Lalatina, and FILO NO TALKING!" Kazuma went over their backstory.

"Ok, Kazuma!" Filo and Iris confirmed.

"Not Kazuma, Thomas! No talking Filo!" Kazuma reprimanded.

"Sorry! Thomas," only Iris verbally confirmed this time, while Filo nodded.

"Good," Kazuma said as he gave Iris a quick kiss.

Coming out of the woods they were stopped by the bow hero's party, apparently they had been healed by Rishia, since all that was needed for fixing bursted eardrums was a simple healing spell they were able to patrol the night. Kazuma could tell they had been working on shifts because half of them looked more tired than the other half, there were two outliers though. Itsuki himself which was well rested and Rishia which seemed like she hadn't slept at all.

"STOP, OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!" Itsuki commanded as he trained his bow on Kazuma, which Kazuma promptly did.

(If he fires I can reflect it, but we have to see if this carriage is able to fool them at the very least) Kazuma thought as the bow hero's party surrounded his carriage.

"Why are you coming out of the woods, in such an unordinary carriage?" a guy in flashy armor interrogated.

"Your questions has similar answers dear traveler, I came through the woods to hide my new invention and get a shortcut to the next town to sell my wares, you see this carriage can handle much more weight, and it is both safer and sturdier than your run of the mill carriage, so this is both a test run and a sales opportunity, one should always know how to utilize time to its fullest you see," Kazuma energetically explained as he took on a friendly tone.

"So you are a merchant, what are you planning to sell?" Itsuki asked now in a friendlier tone.

"I got an order to deliver potion bottles to a business partner of mine, apparently someone has been ordering a lot more potions than he can keep up with lately, so I intend to earn a handsome profit at such a prosperous time," Kazuma answered still friendly and full of energy.

"Who are you traveling with?" Itsuki asked as he put away the bow.

"My fiancé here, and her older sister, which is currently sleeping in the back," Kazuma answered as he hugged Iris tightly, both to show her off and to reassure her he had the situation under control.

"What would your name be dear merchant?" Itsuki seemed to be fully won over by Kazuma's friendly attitude, but Kazuma noticed that none of the other party members had sheathed their weapons.

"My name is Thomas Essler, remember it well and I might give you a discount next time we meet," Kazuma heartily lied as he pretended to focus entirely on Itsuki.

"And the name of your fiancé and her sister?" Itsuki asked as he directed the question to Kazuma.

"My name is Iris, and my sister is called Lalatina," Iris answered with a gentle smile, throwing the bow hero off, since he had expected "Thomas" to answer the question and thereby tell if he was lying.

"Oh, very well, but you see mister Essler, we need to search your carriage, princess Melty was last seen being abducted into the woods by the shield hero, accompanied by a devil wearing human skin, a tanuki girl and a big bird/little girl," Itsuki informed.

"They still haven't found that poor girl," Iris expertly feigned worry, as she gripped onto Kazuma tightly as to seem weak and innocent.

"Searching my carriage comes with certain requirements," Kazuma said as he raised a finger.

"What are those requirements mister Essler?" The bow hero tried to keep his friendly demeanor up, but now Kazuma could tell he was straining himself.

"First, only two people in my carriage at once, secondly if you are going to search my carriage you have to buy something, third any potion bottles broken will mean you pay me the full price of everything, because you just ruined my business deal, and lastly **I will kill any thieves without hesitation,**" Kazuma informed joyfully, but on the last requirement his voice shifted into murderous one as he presented the threat, making a few of them flinch.

"Very well, but if we find any of the people we are looking for, you will be arrested or killed if you resist, and any damage done to your wares will be seen as resisting arrest," Itsuki threatened back, which made Megumin do her best to hold a chuckle back.

"Go on then, who will search my carriage, I don't got all day," Kazuma rushed them as he jumped down from the carriage with some food, going over to feed Filo.

"Come with me!" Itsuki ordered as he gestured to a knight with flashy armor.

"_If they find them, I need you to take off at full speed immediately,_" Kazuma whispered only loud enough for Filo to hear, which she gave an inconspicuous nod to.

When Itsuki first came into the carriage he saw the sleeping Darkness laying on the floor in her dark armor, both he and Flashy armor guy ignored her as they started to search the carriage. They knocked on the wood, but everything was so tightly packed that everything seemed like hard wood. Neither of them thought about looking up, and they found it too risky to move the glass bottles when all the wood knocking had gained no results.

"Nothing, well we will be on our way then," Itsuki said as he jumped out of the carriage while Flashy armor got sneakily tripped by Iris on the way out, making him faceplant into the ground.

"Oh my, are you ok, that seemed like a hard fall," Iris said with feigned concern, this time forcing Raphtalia to hold in her chuckle.

"I am fine, nothing to worry about," he said while doing his best to hide his pained expression.

"What are you going to buy?" Kazuma asked as he wandered back to the carriage.

"Ehm, I guess the bow I saw hanging in there," Itsuki said as he remembered seeing something that might be of use to him.

"You are interested in my bow, well that would be 100 gold pieces," Kazuma happily informed the boy, making him flinch from the amount mentioned.

"That is an outrageous price!" Another party member complained.

"It has been in my family for generations you see, and if I were to part with it, only 100 gold would be sufficient, since the bow has a blessing on it, which makes you unable to miss your target," Kazuma lied.

"Hmm, prove it," Itsuki demanded.

"Darling would you be so kind to fetch me the bow with 3 arrows," Kazuma directed his attention towards Iris.

"Of course, here you go," Iris instantly fetched the bow and some arrows.

"Give me 3 targets, but make it hard or else someone with actual skill might hit it," Kazuma informed as he put an arrow onto the string.

"Ok, hit my arrow out of the air," Itsuki said as he shot one of his own arrows.

"{Snipe}" Kazuma murmured to himself as his own arrow flew after the on Itsuki had shot, and since snipe is based on luck and Kazuma has incredible luck, the arrow of course skewered Itsuki's arrow with ease. The proof even fell in Itsuki's head afterwards, much to his annoyance.

"Well boy, give me 2 more targets, I don't have all day," Kazuma urged the boy.

"You see that bird's nest behind all those branches, shoot it down," Itsuki challenged, which made Kazuma internally sigh as he fired his 2nd arrow and it hit with ease.

"See, this bow will make you hit any target, but you must pick another target for me to finish the presentation," Kazuma said.

"You see that flock of flying birds, I want you to kill 3 of them with 1 arrow," Itsuki smirked as he thought the task to be impossible.

"Fine choice young one, {Farsight}{Snipe}," Kazuma shot the arrow and all of the sudden a huge part of the flock started to fall down, like something had clipped their wings. Then a huge wind came in from the direction of the bird flock and dead birds started to rain down on them, only missing the carriage, Kazuma, Iris and Rishia.

"Bleurgh!" Itsuki grunted as he spat out a bird that had crash landed in his open mouth.

"Oh look, here is my arrow, and look it skewered 3 birds, so would that be a deal?" Kazuma asked as jovial as ever.

"Would you mind me taking a closer look at the bow?" Itsuki more demanded than asked, Kazuma had clearly gone a little too far with his "presentation."

"You can take a closer look," Kazuma confirmed, but when Itsuki stretched his arm out to grab the bow Kazuma smacked it away in an instant, "Do you look with you fingers?" "Thomas" rhetorically asked.

"S-sorry, how rude of me," Itsuki said with gritted teeth as he did his best to not punch the man in front of him, which greatly amused both him and Iris, not that they showed it.

"What will it be, you buying my bow for a 100 gold pieces, or are you just going to waste more of my time?" Kazuma asked as he waved the bow in front of him, like an irresistible dessert.

"You see, I am the bow hero, so how would that change the prize for me?" Itsuki proudly revealed as he brought his bow back out, to prove his claim.

"The bow hero, interesting," Kazuma said with fake intrigue.

"Indeed, master Itsuki is the greatest hero out of all those that were summoned, a prize change is befitting," Flashy armor spoke as he wiped off blood from his armor, making it not so flashy anymore.

"Indeed it is, 120 gold pieces!" Kazuma exclaimed as he held the bow higher, while the group went into a collective gasp.

"Excuse me, did you not hear what I just said, I am **the** bow hero," Itsuki now offended, prepressed as he stepped closer to Kazuma.

"Indeed, I believe you good sir, but you have already wasted much of my time, and I am quite frankly offended by you wasting more of it by introducing yourself, so I increased the prize for your audacity," Kazuma explained, which made the others around him go into their battle stances, except for Rishia who had to hold everything.

"You do understand I am here to save this world, and that rare bow of yours would be of great help, so why don't you lower the prize?" Itsuki said.

"Hmm, in that case give me 140 gold pieces for it," Kazuma said which made them look on in even more shock.

"The audacity you have, how dare you-"

"**150 GOLD PIECES!**" Kazuma interrupted the man speaking.

"I just want to hold the bow for a few seconds, how much would that cost?" Itsuki changed his approach, which made Kazuma suspicious.

"Hmm, 10 gold pieces should be fine for that," Kazuma finally said.

"Pay the man!" Itsuki quickly ordered, which made one his companions hand Kazuma the money, as Kazuma handed the bow to Itsuki.

The moment Itsuki got the bow into his hand he sent Kazuma an evil smirk, "There, the copy is done, I no longer need this," Itsuki proclaimed as he threw the bow back to Kazuma, as his bow changed into a perfect replica of Kazuma's ok bow.

"Interesting, so you can copy any weapon you pick up," Kazuma noted.

"Indeed, and now I will be on my way old man, until next time we meet, Thomas Essler," Itsuki mockingly said as he started to walk away, while flaunting his newly acquired bow.

"Yes indeed, until next time we meet bow hero," Kazuma said with gritted teeth as he tried his best to hold in his laughter.

(I tricked him good) Both Kazuma and Itsuki thought as they parted ways, only one of them being correct.

"Are you ok, K-Thomas?" Iris questioned as she saw how hard he was working on holding his feelings back.

"Iris, indeed I am, that boy just gave me something far more valuable than gold, he gave me information about how those legendary weapons works," Kazuma said with a smirk, when they had gotten further away from the bow hero's party.

"Let me guess, this bow isn't special, it's just your stupidly high luck that made you hit all those shots," Iris guessed as she began to smirk herself.

"Indeed, I got 10 gold pieces and valuable information, and all I had to do, was act like I had been tricked, that boy must feel proud of himself," Kazuma smirked back as they continued traveling for another hour.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A man yelled as he jumped into the road with 20 armed men on each side of him.

"We are being robbed I guess," Kazuma noted.

"You are indeed being robbed, so handover all your valuables and we will spare your life!" The man in the middle of the road lied, as he flourished his sword.

"Can I take care of them? I promise to make it quick," Iris pleaded as her fingers itched to draw Calibur.

"Sure, but kill all of them, I don't want to deal with people knowing how strong we are," Kazuma said as he leaned back to watch the show.

"Hah, you think you can take us that lightly, after we knock this woman unconscious we will be sure to make her our new whore," Another more thin man said as he stepped into the road, quickly followed by everyone else.

"Careful now, we don't want to wake the pervert," Iris cheekily noted as she drew Calibur.

"Boss, this woman think she can fight all of us, I will be sure to adjust her attitude," a burly man twice her size gloated as he stepped up in front of her.

"Be sure to do, just don't kill her," The first man jokingly noted.

"Iris, can you make sure they don't lay dead in the road after you are done, otherwise it's going to be such a hassle getting them out of the way afterwards," Kazuma informed her.

"Of course, that should be easy enough," Iris confirmed sending Kazuma a bright smile.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" The burly man roared as he tried to hit Iris from behind.

"{Exterion}!" Iris yelled as she spun around and sliced her sword through every single bandit, then the shockwave from her strike sent all the now sliced bodies flying to the ditch on the right side. Some were sliced in half, and lay in the ditch let out cries of pain, while the shorter ones had gotten their heads sliced clean off.

"AH, IT HURTS!" The unlucky ones screamed in unparalleled agony.

"OH SHIT! I am so sorry, that should have obliterated all of you in an instant, I didn't mean to let you suffer like this, {Sacred lightning blare}," Iris chanted as beam of burning light shone from her hands, and when it resided all the bodies were gone.

"That is weaker than what I remember," Kazuma noted.

"Well, my level was reset so what do you expect, if I was still level 800 these poor fools would have been gone in a flash at my sword strike," Iris nervously complained as she jumped back onto the carriage with ease.

"{Create water}, we can't let that start a forest fire," Kazuma said as he dozed the area with a torrent of water from his hand.

"Shouldn't we take a break soon and let the others stretch their legs a little?" Iris questioned.

"I guess we should, but I don't feel we should stop just yet, we need a place where we can unload without attracting much attention," Kazuma said as they went on traveling for another hour.

"Excuse me!" A tall young man with dark blue/black hair, that was cut in the front, said in a gentle tone catching Kazuma's attention. When taking a closer look, Kazuma could see the man had light blue eyes and was wearing a pair of armless glasses on his nose, his smile gentle and welcoming.

"Yes good sir, what is it?" Kazuma asked ever so politely, while trying to get a good read on the man.

"This is certainly a peculiar carriage, never seen one like it before, and to be dragged by just one filolial when it seems so heavy is truly impressive," The man complimented as he studied the carriage intensely.

"Thank you good sir, this is my latest invention, and I am taking it for a test run with my fiancé here and her sister, which is currently sleeping in the back," Kazuma happily informed the man.

"Fiancé you say, might I get to know the name of the happy couple?" The man politely asked.

"Of course, a good merchant must always spread his name, I am Thomas Essler and this is my fiancé, Iris," Kazuma happily informed.

"I will take note of your name, since this seems like fine craftsmanship," The man bowed as he walked closer to the carriage.

"Kazuma, where are we now?" The now awake Darkness suddenly asked, making Iris and Kazuma involuntarily cringe at the mention of his real name.

(Fuck, why did you have to wake up now of all times) Kazuma internally monologued to himself.

"Kazuma, good to make your acquaintance, I am Van Reichnott, the Lord of this domain," He introduced himself as he went into a deep bow, which Kazuma took as an opportunity to use {Concealment} as he placed a mirage in his place. Now having Chunchunmaru drawn right behind the man, while he would be talking to his illusion.

"You must excuse my companion, Lalatina's lover's name is Kazuma, and she is always used to having him by her side when she wakes up, my name is **Thomas Essler **after all," Kazuma's illusion said as it sent her a reprimanding glare which made Darkness gulp.

"Oh my what a terrible misunderstanding, my deepest apologies," Van said as he went down in another deep bow.

"Ah, yes Thomas, I am sorry if I created an unnecessary misunderstanding for you," Darkness said as she started to sweat bullets.

"Your friend is not a good liar, but I plead that you don't kill me, for I am not your enemy, so please "Thomas" lower your blade," Van pleaded as he slowly turned around, which shocked Kazuma.

"You are good, but tell me, why should I believe you?" Kazuma said as he appeared in front of Van, his blade still trained on Van's neck.

"Because I am an ally to the shield hero, and I don't think he would let someone else travel with the heavenly fowl, let alone that it would willingly traveling with some random person, so you must also be an ally of the shield hero," Van explained happily.

"You must be delusional, this is just your run of the mill filolial," Kazuma tried to excuse himself.

"Oh please, don't take me for a fool, I recognize that your carriage is holding much more content than what it looks like, and no ordinary filolial would be able to drag this much weight, with such ease," Van pointed out, much to Kazuma's annoyance.

"Why should I trust you? All you have done up to now is point out reasons for me to kill you," Kazuma threatened.

"True, but I beg of you to trust me, I am only here to help, I am an old friend of the queen and princess Melty, but if this is not enough to convince you, then cut my head off," Van said as he got down on his knees and presented his neck.

"Jump in the carriage, I have an easy way to check if you are telling the truth," Kazuma said as he withdrew his blade.

"I thank you," Mister Reichnott said as he got into the carriage and sat down next to Darkness.

"Restrain him by hugging him Lalatina, I will find a place we can freely stretch our legs," Kazuma ordered, which Darkness quickly did as she trapped him in her infamous bear hug, but she did allow him to breathe.

"Oh my, trapped in the arms of a beautiful woman, even if I could escape why would I," Van complimented, which made Darkness a little flustered.

After traveling for 30 minutes they came to a patch of thick trees, where it was easy to hide from people traveling on the main road. Kazuma then gestured for Darkness to move, while he opened the back compartment and Iris opened the front compartment. Then they helped everyone out of their cozy hiding spots as they started to stretch their legs.

"Your carriage is even more roomy than I first thought, very impressive," He complimented

"Melty, do you know this man, and is he to be trusted?" Kazuma asked as he pointed to the trapped man, totally ignoring his compliment.

"Yes, this is indeed Van Reichnott, and he is one of the few that advocated for friendly relations between humans and demi-humans, so I vouch for him being an ally," Melty said as did a nervous tap dance.

"Your vouch is much appreciated my dear," Van said as he bowed his head, since the rest of his upper body was being held tight by Darkness.

"I don't know, I don't have such a good experience with nobles," Naofumi shared.

"I have also had bad experiences with nobles, but I guess some have been alright," Kazuma cheekily noted, which made Iris give him a playful punch to the arm and Darkness send him a judging glare.

"It is like a compass, one scale measures if the noble is good or bad, the other measures if they are sane or insane, Iris lands in good/sane spectrum, while Lalatina here is on the good/kind of insane spectrum," Megumin joked as she rested her head on Kazuma's lap.

"In that case you are just the same as me on that spectrum," Darkness retaliated.

"Don't start anything right now, we haven't eaten yet and I am still not sure why Van here stopped us," Kazuma interjected before friendly banter could begin.

"Isn't it obvious, I wanted to help, I can provide you all with food and a place to sleep, back at my mansion," He happily informed them as he sent a warming smile.

"I have no reason to doubt him, he has been a loyal supporter of Lord Seaetto, before he was tragically killed under the first wave," Melty informed as her nervous dance had gotten more intense.

"I was from the Seaetto region, our town was badly hit by the wave, and before we were able to rebuild, soldiers from the capital we thought were there to help suddenly killed all the remaining men, and sold the rest of us into slavery," Raphtalia angrily informed them.

"So they lied to me about that, hmm, say sir shield hero, the knights have informed me you tried to start a forest fire in order to cover your tracks, would you consider that account to be accurate?" The Lord asked with a knowing smile.

"That is a complete lie! I can guarantee you, it's that bitchy princess that tried to start those fires, and if I were unsuccessful in starting the fires, how come they didn't find me," Naofumi angrily retorted.

"Indeed, an astute observation, I also believed you to be innocent, but out of concern for princess Melty I patrolled the area by myself, and then I came upon this masterpiece, and the rest is history, with me stuck in Lady Lalatina's arms," He happily retold as he leaned more into her embrace.

"I think you can let him- Can you just go and PEE ALREADY, I can't focus with you tapdancing," Kazuma finally snapped at Melty making her hide behind Iris. "Iris, can you go with her?" Iris gave a quick nod to his question as she led the fellow princess out of the carriage.

"As I was saying, I think you can let him go of him now," Kazuma remarked.

"No-no, I might still be a threat, so just to be on the safe side she should still hold me, right?" He challenged.

(Oh poor fool, she might be hot, but her personality is not, well I won't be a party pooper) Kazuma thought to himself as he facepalmed. "Keep ahold of him for now Lalatina," he reluctantly ordered, as Van's smile got even brighter.

"When the others come back we will travel to your mansion Lord Reichnott, but trust me when I say: **If you plan to hurt any these people, death will be your last worry,**" Megumin threatened as her crimson eyes lit up.

"The knights also told me about a red eyed demon that could muster forth the sun itself, would you consider that account to be accurate?" He casually asked, not even faced by her threat.

"Yes, if I wanted to, I could obliterate a whole city with the power of my explosion spell," Megumin calmly stated, which made Reichnott stare at her in disbelief.

"She is not lying!" everyone in the carriage reaffirmed simultaneously, which made Van even more shocked, since he believed this account to be untrue baloney as well.

"You certainly have a powerful wife "Thomas"," He complimented.

"The rings gave it away," Kazuma guessed.

"Yes, but also the way you act towards each other, you stroking her hair, she laying on you like it is completely natural," Reichnott pointed out as he sent them a warm smile.

"Astute as ever Reichnott," Melty spoke as she stepped back into the carriage with Iris behind her.

"Your compliment is greatly accepted," He said as he bowed his head to her.

"Everyone back into hiding, we are leaving for Reichnott's mansion, and we don't want anyone to be spotted, which incidentally means that you can no longer be our "prisoner" so let him go Lalatina," Kazuma ordered as he helped Melty back into the front pocket while Naofumi and Raphtalia helped each other into the back pocket.

"Before I go," Megumin said as she leaned in and whispered something to Kazuma.

"Oh, that does sound good," Kazuma agreed as they parted with a quick kiss.

"What sounds good?" Iris asked curios, which made Kazuma lean in and whisper to her.

"That does indeed sound good," She agreed as she bit her lower lip, making Darkness stare at them in confusion.

"Filo you will get instructions from Reichnott here, and he will tell you the way to his mansion," Kazuma explained as she gave him a nod.

And so the travel to the mansion began, which took around 10 minutes. It was pretty close after all. The moment they had stopped Filo transformed back into her little girl form, as the rest of the group started to get off the carriage. They were then escorted to a private room with a dinner table covered with all sorts of delicious food.

"Nobody eat anything!" Naofumi ordered as he snatched a baguette from Filo.

"Absolutely exquisite, rest assured the food isn't poisoned," He reassured them as he ate something from every dish on the table, making them let out a sigh of relief as they sat down. Naofumi sat on the right side of the host, with Raphtalia on his right again, while Melty and Filo sat opposite of them, and Darkness next to Filo. Kazuma sat down on the opposite end of the table, with Megumin on his right and Iris on his left, his mask still on.

"Ok everybody, time to eat!" Filo happily exclaimed as she grabbed the food with her hands.

"Where are your manners?! Put that down," both Raphtalia and Megumin reprimanded her, as Megumin started to eat.

"Ugh, ok," Filo reluctantly put her food down as she picked up a knife and fork and started to eat more civilized.

"Come on master Naofumi I am sure it is fine to eat," Raphtalia reassured him.

"It is incredibly rude to cast such doubts on his gracious hospitality," Melty said as she started eating.

"No, it is purely logical to cast doubts on someone we just met, even if you vouched for him, he could very well have ended up betraying us," Kazuma pointed out as he also started to eat, with Iris following his example.

"I take it you still doubt me, since you have yet to reveal your face," Reichnott pointed out as he joined the feast.

"No, I simply keep this mask on to avoid other problems,"

"Ok, I will not pry, but how long do you plan to stay?" Reichnott directed the questioned toward Naofumi, which also started to eat.

"We are leaving tomorrow morning at dawn," Naofumi stated, which made Kazuma nod in agreement.

"But why so soon?" Melty questioned.

"Because, the longer we stay here the higher the odds of us being sniffed out," Naofumi explained.

"More like ratted out, even if Reichnott is trustworthy, is all of his staff the same?" Kazuma argued.

"You two are both cautious, it is almost like you are related," Reichnott joked, but this time no one revealed anything with their facial features, that was something they couldn't let be revealed to more people.

When the food had been properly eaten Kazuma spoke up.

"Reichnott do you have a shield available?" He asked

"Indeed I do, do you wish for me to bring it?" Reichnott asked, which Kazuma confirmed with a quick nod.

It took 3 minutes before Reichnott returned with a family shield and put it on the table in front of Naofumi.

"Naofumi, pick up the shield and see if you can copy it," Kazuma instructed.

"I can't copy shields," He argued back.

"Just try, the bow hero could copy my bow, I have a feeling you can copy shields then," Kazuma theorized, which made Naofumi pick up the shield.

"Nothing is happening," Naofumi complained.

"Try to believe that you can, Aqua couldn't do anything without belief," Kazuma argued.

"Ok, believe, I can copy any shield I hold, I can copy and shield I hold, I can copy any shield I hold," Naofumi chanted to himself, when suddenly a weapon copy section popped up in his player Hud, making him stare at it in disbelief, as the shield he was holding became available.

"IT WORKED!" Everyone stated in shock as they saw the shield Kazuma held, got a perfect copy on his shield arm.

"This is huge, tomorrow I can travel back to Axel and build some shields for you, comeback and give you some of the highest quality shields I can gather," Kazuma happily explained.

After the great revelation, they were showed to their rooms, Kazuma asked for a big room close to the ground, while Naofumi and his companions were provided with a room on the third floor. Meanwhile Darkness had been placed in a room awfully close to the Lord's own bedroom.

"Would you please tell me where we could take a bath?" Kazuma asked the maid.

"There is a bathroom down the hallway if you wish to freshen up sir…"

"Essler, Thomas Essler," Kazuma answered.

"Very well mister Essler, if you need any soap or lotion, just ask and we will provide it for you," The maid politely informed.

"The hospitality is appreciated, well girls, do you need any soap or lotion before we go to the bath?" Kazuma asked.

"Yes please!" They both exclaimed in unison

**/Meanwhile in Naofumi's room**

"Wow this feels amazing, so soft and bouncy!" Happily informed the others as she rolled around in her bed.

"You should get some rest, why don't you sleep?" Melty suggested to Naofumi.

"There is no way of knowing when this place is going to be attacked, I make it a point of not sleeping at times like these,"

"Don't you think "Thomas" is going to stay up and watch us, would be surprised if he didn't,"

"Yeah, but what if there really is a rotten apple in this mansion, wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity to strike," Naofumi argued back.

"Master Naofumi why don't I keep watch, so that you can go and get some sleep," Raphtalia offered.

"Alright," agreed as he walked over to his bed.

"Why do you listen to Raphtalia and not me?" Melty queried in an annoyed voice.

"Don't worry about it," Naofumi bluntly stated as he flung himself onto the bed and closed his eyes.

"Sleepy," Filo simply stated as she fell asleep in an instant.

"She has been dragging that carriage around all day, no wonder," Raphtalia noted as she pulled the covers over her companion.

Melty tired herself also went to sleep.

"_Would it hurt to be a bit nicer to her, it wouldn't cost you anything you know,_" Raphtalia whispered to Naofumi as she also pulled the covers over him. He didn't say anything in response, he just rolled over on his side and started to sleep.

(I enjoyed being so close to you today, maybe I should thank Kazuma for that) Raphtalia thought to herself as she lovingly gazed upon him.

**/A few hours pass**

Kazuma retrieves an AR and 4 magazines from the carriage. His instincts are telling him they might come in handy later. In the meantime Naofumi woke up to see Melty staring out of the window.

"You are up," Melty noted.

"Yeah, I will take over now," Naofumi said as he stretched.

"It's fine, I am actually not really sleepy," Melty retorted.

"What's the matter?" Naofumi asked, kind of worried.

"Naofumi I…" Melty stopped.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking as a crown-princess should I really keep running like this? As a member of the royal family there's just so much more I could be doing, but I find I am doing nothing, because I keep running," Melty explained as she stared out the window, not really sure what to focus on.

"You being alive is essential for all of us, if you cannot stand witness for my innocence everyone is pretty much screwed, so worry about your duties when you are safe and out of danger," Naofumi argued.

"But… I feel so pathetic," Melty shared as she trapped the curtains in a death grip.

Suddenly Naofumi placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which made her gasp from the unexpected contact. "Don't be so hard on yourself, get some rest now!" He strongly advised.

"Ok," was all Melty answered with as she went over to her bed and sat down.

"Don't worry, I am sure something will come up that only you can take care of," Naofumi shot in to comfort her.

"Thanks… uhm, never mind it is nothing, goodnight Naofumi," She said in a gentle tone as she pulled the covers over herself and started to fall asleep.

"Yeah, goodnight," Naofumi quickly answered as he looked back out the window.

**/The adults room, except for Darkness**

"Aren't you gonna go to bed, dear?" Megumin worriedly asked as she saw him sitting in front of a bunch of dismantled parts.

"No, I can do an all-nighter or two without any problems, just get your sleep," Kazuma said as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"I know I like you with that mask on, but let me see your face now," Megumin said as she stretched her arms out and removed the mask. "Please dear come sleep with us, you are worrying too much and need to relax," She pleaded with him, and tugged at his sleeves.

"I did enough relaxing in the bath with you two, I need to figure out our next step," Kazuma said as he turned away from his wife, and looked out the window.

"At least eat and drink something," Megumin said as she put forth a glass of water and some meat.

"Ok, sleep well," Kazuma simply retorted as he looked back to his disassembled gun, before he reassembled it again for the 10th time.

**/Back in Naofumi's room**

"_No… leave her alone,_" Raphtalia murmured, which caught Naofumi's attention, and he could she see was sprawling around in her bed, like she had done when he had first bought her.

He went over to her and held her hand, which seemed to calm her down a little, but her tears still ran down her cheeks. Naofumi wiped them away as they streamed down her face with his hand, and every time he did Raphtalia seemed to get calmer and calmer until her tears stopped.

(Poor thing, she is having that same nightmare again) Naofumi thought as looked at her now calm sleeping face with concern.

After a few more hours of pacing around in his room and checking up on Raphtalia every now and then, he could see the sun start to rise. He started to get dressed when all of the sudden the serene silence was broken.

"**BANG! BANG! BANG!" **Three rapid shots could be heard loudly ringing throughout the mansion, waking everyone up in an instant.

**A/N**

**Ok I will end it here, since this is the longest chapter I have written so far. I do hope you enjoyed reading it though. The 4:20 thing was a tribute to this story reaching 420 followers on the 4/20, which I find funny. The choice of Megumin allowing Iris to marry Kazuma, might be disliked, but I am not called ContriversalNews for nothing. **

**Hopefully I see you people in the next chapter.**


	10. Raphtalia's Revenge

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 10: Raphtalia's Revenge

**When we last left off our heroes were given refuge in the mansion of Lord Van Reichnott. Shots had just been fired in rapid succession, which woke everyone from their slumber, as they saw soldiers start to flood the mansion. However let us go back to 5 minutes before the shots were fired, and look inside Kazuma's room.**

Kazuma had fallen asleep in his chair, after his 50th reassemble of the AR. This gave a black haired maid the opportunity to snag the gun from him, which woke him. So now Kazuma sat in his chair, with both his pregnant wife and fiancé sleeping soundly in their bed as a woman trained his own gun on him.

"I know how to use a gun so don't try anything, I know I might only have one shot, but I don't think you want either of these two to die, so you will wait here until the guards I called for gets here," The maid said as she aimed the gun towards the sleeping Megumin.

"So, how did you learn to use a gun?" Kazuma casually queried as he leaned back in his chair.

"My father taught me, he is from the kingdom of Faubley, so I got some training in how to load, clean and handle his flint-lock, so I know very well that if I pull this trigger, this thing will shoot," She confidently stated as she wiggled her finger around the trigger.

"That's right," Kazuma confirmed totally calm, which put the maid a little bit off.

"Why are you so calm, I will kill one of them if I pull this trigger, I am confident I won't miss, I even hit a bird 100 meters away, with one of these," She reaffirmed, now starting to get nervous over how calm the man in front of her was.

"So, why are you doing this?" Kazuma questioned as he leaned forward and looked the woman straight in the eyes.

"To kill the devil of the shield of course, but I thought the devil of obliteration would be a good 2nd target, and when I look at you, you could pretty much be that devil's brother," She realized as she now trained the gun back at him.

"Do I still look that young, I thank you for the compliment, but I am going to give you some information about my relationship with the shield hero, I am his father," Kazuma introduced himself with a smirk on his face, as he rose from his chair.

"STOP, I WILL SHOOT!" She nervously screamed at him, as he took another slow step towards him.

"No, you won't," Kazuma confidently stated as she went into a stance and put her finger on the trigger.

"I WILL BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF, SO STOP!" She commanded as Kazuma took another step towards the armed maid.

"That will not be what happens here," Kazuma said as he took another step forward.

"FUCK!" She yelled as she pulled the trigger three times "click, click, click," now understanding why he was so calm.

"You didn't load it," She said in grave realization as she dropped the gun and fell to her knees.

"No, it is definitively loaded, you just didn't do two vital steps," Kazuma said as he picked up the gun, then proceeded to cock it and switch off the safety.

"See you were also wrong about another thing," Kazuma said as he pointed the gun at the woman that betrayed her own lord.

"W-what?" She asked clearly frightened.

"It has more than 1 shot," Kazuma informed her with a sadistic smile which made her skin crawl.

"You wouldn't shoot a woman, right?" She pleaded as she hoped for some forgiveness.

"I am a man of true gender equality, so since you pulled the three times while aiming at my head, I will now return the favor, I'll be sure to inform Lord Reichnott of your betrayal," Kazuma said with a sadistic smile as he pulled the trigger three times.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

"OUCH!" Iris complained as she shot up from the bed.

"_Hehe, tiny explosion,_" Megumin muttered still half-asleep.

"Sorry, I always forget how loud this thing is, get dressed this woman has betrayed her lord and we have unfriendly company incoming," Kazuma quickly relayed as she got out of bed.

"How didn't that wake her?" Iris asked as she pointed at the still sleeping Megumin.

"Our son is in danger!" Kazuma said in a stern voice, which made Megumin shoot out of her bed in an instant.

"Oh no! I am going to kill them before any danger can even be perceived by him," Megumin angrily stated as she tried to walk out the door with only her hat and black staff on, before Kazuma held her back.

"Get dressed first, only I get to see you naked," Kazuma said as Megumin suddenly looked at her attire, or rather lack of zed attire, and turned a little red.

"Ok, Megumin you will be in the middle, I will be the vanguard, and Iris you are in the back, we make our way to the lord and Darkness' room first, then we get to Naofumi's room," Kazuma quickly laid out the plan as they got dressed.

"Shouldn't I be the vanguard since I am the better close quarters combatant," Iris argued.

"But I want to use my gun, do you guys have any of Filo's feathers so we can plug our ears?" Kazuma questioned.

"I got 4, so you and Iris can plug your ears, those firecrackers don't compare to the sound of my mighty explosion, so it won't face me," Megumin explained as she handed the feathers to Kazuma and Iris.

"Ok, then let's go, and don't step in the dead maid as you walk out," Kazuma said as he fastened Chunchunmaru to the underside of his gun, making it into a makeshift bayonet. Before he again adorned his mask and carefully opened the door, taking care in avoiding the corpse.

**/Meanwhile in Naofumi's room**

"Come shield hero, we must hide you before they can find you," a blonde maid nervously ordered as she gestured for them to follow her.

"No, we won't reach anywhere in time, if there where half the amount of soldier we could probably have made it to somewhere else, but now our best option is to barricade this room, if you want to come in now is the time, otherwise get out of here before you are caught in the crossfire," Naofumi ordered as he gestured for Filo and Raphtalia to pick up the beds.

**BANG! **As another shot rang out the maid jolted into the room for safety, right before the doors closed and Filo put her bed in front of it, quickly followed by Raphtalia's bed.

"Ok, we need to make this door impenetrable, so take anything heavy and place it in front of the door, I am certain the others will be able to take care of the other soldiers," Naofumi informed as Filo took Melty's bed and flung it onto the barricade.

"How do you know that it is not someone else with his gun?" Raphtalia asked in a worried tone.

"If it was, we wouldn't have heard three rapid shots, they are probably only used to flint-locks so I am pretty sure that he still has his gun," Naofumi reassured.

**BANG! **Another shot rang out making the maid more nervous, as soldiers started to bash on the door, trying their best to force it open.

"They better get here quick, this barricade won't last forever," Naofumi noted as everyone got ready for battle, even the maid slid brought out her kitchen knife.

**/5min before Kazuma shot for a 4****th**** time**

"Hey drop your weapons!" A soldier accompanied two others ordered, but instead Kazuma shot him in the head, which made his two companions scramble for cover. One got into another room, while the other stood in the entrance to the hallway.

"Shit, he has a gun!" The one in the room said as he got up.

"Yeah, I thought it was one of ours that fired earlier," The door soldier said.

"Wait, he just used his shot, we should rush him," The room soldier realized.

"Ok, on 3," The door soldier said as he held up three fingers t

"I will count, one, two, three, g-" **BANG! **Another shot rang out as the door soldier got shot as he ran out on three.

"I thought we were going to go like, one, two, three, GO! Not literally on three," The room soldier excused himself to his companions corpse.

"Hey soldier, we heard shots, where is the gunman?" A high ranking officer commanded as he looked at the dead soldier with some pity.

"He is that way sir, and he just shot Darrius here, and Henry further up the hall," The room soldier informed.

"Well, what are you sitting here for, attack him, he has just shot 2 times, I have never seen a man carry three flint-locks on him, ATTACK!" The officer ordered, but the room soldier didn't move.

"Make me," The room soldier defiantly said, as he didn't dare walk into the hallway.

"You dare disobey me, I will have your head for this," The officer threatened as he drew his sword and walked into the hallway.

He was almost into the room with the disobeying soldier when, **BANG! **And his head was shot, as he fell over dead. Which made the room soldier go into a fetal position as he closed the door behind him.

"_I didn't want to be a soldier, I wanted to be a baker, why am I even here? Please if there is a God spare my life,_" The room soldier muttered to himself as he hid his head.

**BANG! BANG!** The shots were now closer as he could hear two more of his companions die right next to the door.

"_I DON'T WANT TO DIE, I DON'T WANT TO DIE, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!_" The room soldier frantically repeated to himself, as he held his head.

**BANG! BANG! BANG! **More shots rang out right next to his door as he could imagine more of his soldiers dying, what kind of gun was that, when would the firing stop. Then the door to his room got kicked open and a man came in and pointed literal death on him.

"PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME, I DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE TODAY, I WAS ORDERED, I SWEAR, MERCY, PLEASE HAVE MERCY!" The soldier begged for his life as he stared at Kazuma.

"Stay in this room, if you leave it you are dead, UNDERSTOOD!" Kazuma ordered.

"YES SIR! STAY HERE! DON'T LEAVE!" The room soldier quickly reaffirmed, as he started to strip his armor off and threw his weapon out the door, right before Kazuma closed the door and let the soldier be by himself.

"I get to live, I GET TO LIVE!" He yelled out in pure bliss as he lay on the floor totally relaxed, and fell asleep. When he woke up 10 hours later that was the best sleep he had ever had in his life, even with everything going on outside. But he wouldn't dare leave the room, in fear that the gunman was still around.

**/Meanwhile at the barricade**

"OPEN THIS DOOR IMMEDIATELY!" A soldier commanded as three others tried to push it open, not realizing the door opened their way.

"Why would we do that?" Naofumi questioned, startling the soldiers a little with his question.

"Uhm, well because, NEVER MIND, CHOP THIS DOOR DOWN BOYS!" He ordered as he drew his own sword and started to swing at the door.

"YOU DARE RUIN THE DOORS OF LORD REICHNOTT'S MANSION, I WILL CUT YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF!" The maid roared as the prospect of some lunatics ruining her beautiful workplace really pushed her buttons. Some of the soldiers even stopped chopping until their commander aimed his own sword at their necks.

As the soldiers kept chopping at the door, one of them finally made a hole in it, but then he did the grave mistake of taking a peek inside, and suddenly he got up close and personal with the maid's kitchen knife. The dead comrade scared some of the soldiers but the commander ordered them to keep chopping, and no peeking.

**/Meanwhile in the 2****nd**** floor**

"Lady Lalatina, are you sure you can take on all of these soldiers?" Van asked politely, long past arguing if he should surrender himself to the soldiers, when he heard the shooting downstairs.

"I will be just fine, I have my armor on and I can't exactly let them harm my host, my noble status won't allow it," She lied, she just wanted all the attacks directed at her.

"If need be I will step in to help you, but if you want to prove yourself for your friends I have no problems with it," He gently informed her as 10 soldiers rushed up the stairs towards them.

"Thank you Reichnott, but that won't be necessary," She proudly stated as she drew her blade, easily averting all of their blades, but when she went for a strike, well she missed. However the strike had so much force behind it that the soldiers backed away, now trying to assess their new foe.

(How noble, she doesn't want to harm the soldiers, so her first strike was a feign to see if they would rethink their actions) Reichnott incorrectly deduced.

"Ok, two attack on her right, two on her left, and I will occupy her front, GO!" A soldier commanded, which made Darkness let all the strikes from the side hit her as she parried the soldier in the front.

"I felt nothing," She calmly observed, hiding her disappointment, but to the soldiers and Reichnott. To them it looked like this woman just warned them not to attack her, by using a super powerful strike that would mean certain death if hit, and when 4 men in level 20 hit her, she felt NOTHING. So since they didn't think she would tolerate a third attack the soldiers ran away from their weapons.

"Impressive my Lady, most impressive, what is your relationship with the shield hero again?" Reichnott praised as he dug for information, to get a read on Naofumi's companions.

"I am his godmother, whoops, I wasn't supposed to say that," Darkness suddenly realized as the information spilled out of her.

"Oh, no need to worry, your secret is safe with me," He reassured her, which made her let out a sigh of relief.

(Godmother, the shield hero must be a very merciful man, if he is anything like her) He wrongly deduced again.

"Hmm, my soldiers seemed to have been defeated, but that doesn't matter, I will defeat you with ease," A fat man in a noble's outfit confidently stated as he drew his sword and whip.

(I am getting major Alderp vibes from this guy, but this guy doesn't even have a mustache) Darkness thought with disgust, an abusive man had been her type before, but now she was only into one type of man, Kazuma.

"Idol, why are you visiting me so suddenly, and with so many soldiers nonetheless?" Reichnott calmly asked.

"I know you are harboring the devil of the shield here," Idol accused as he snapped with his whip to be as terrifying as he could manage.

"I know no one by that name Idol, the only shield related person I know is the shield hero," Van answered with a grin, which he got a whip in the face for.

"If you are going to whip someone, whip me!" Darkness stated, which to Reichnott seemed heroic, but our dear masochist was just being greedy again.

"Gladly!" Idol spoke with a sadistic smile plastered across his face, before he struck with the whip and hit Darkness right in the face. This hurt as much to her as someone flicking their finger at her face, sure it stung a little, but it wasn't exciting to any capacity. Idol did however not notice Darkness' great uninterest as he whipped her face repeatedly.

"Enough of this," Darkness said in annoyance, as she swung her sword towards Idol, which he easily dodged as he drew his own sword and struck at her back. Again, the armor absorbed all the damage, so Darkness didn't feel anything. The armor was clearly a counter for high-level opponents, so to even make a dent would be impossible for someone like Idol.

"So you think some fancy armor from your pathetic boyfriend is going to save you, doesn't matter I will cut off that insolent head with ease," Idol said as he thought that Lord Reichnott had given her that armor, but since Kazuma was the one that had given her the armor, Idol accidently pushed a lot of buttons.

"BASTARD!" Darkness roared as she stepped forward and took strike after strike at the fat grape in front of her. Every time she missed he would sidestep her and whip her face, or take a swing at it with his sword. The whip didn't do anything, but it sounded like it hurt so Idol kept at it, and every sword strike was either parried by Darkness or he hit her armor.

(They are so evenly matched, Lalatina is strong enough to take whatever he is able to dish out, while Idol is surprisingly nimble and can dodge her strikes) was what Reichnott thought.

Suddenly the sounds from the fight in front of Reichnott was drowned out by the rapid fire from Kazuma's AR, and the ensuing panic from the still alive soldiers as they scrambled for cover only to be cut down by Iris, or some unlucky soldiers that were thrown out the window by Megumin, as they had to suffer their last minutes alive with glass shards poking out of their bodies.

"Soon that valiant look in your eyes will turn into despair, you might act tough but I know for certain I have done some damage," He incorrectly deduced as he totally ignored the panic below.

"You are joking right?" Darkness asked totally confused, but Idol just mistook it as her continuing to play tough.

"The next one to be hit by my whip, WILL DIE!" Idol menacingly predicted as he swung the whip backwards.

"{Bind}" Kazuma chanted as the whip started to wrap itself around Idol, and the popper of the whip snapped Idol right in the balls, making him fall forwards onto his knees as he was unable to move from the intense pain he now felt, plus he was bound by his own whip.

"You seem important enough, Darkness drag him with you, we got to check up on the kids," Kazuma commanded as he cleared the gun, before he kept walking towards Naofumi's room, now accompanied by Darkness and Reichnott, with Idol as a prisoner.

"Fascinating weapon you have there Mister "Essler," it is very different from any flint-locks I have seen," Reichnott complimented as he got up beside Kazuma.

"It certainly is," Kazuma confirmed as they got up to the third floor with maybe around 60 soldiers flooding the hallway, all weary of the now absolutely torn down door to Naofumi's room.

"HELP ME!" Idol screamed, which caught all of the soldiers attention, but Kazuma quickly put his Katana that gave off a weak silver light to Idol's throat.

"Anyone that wants to live, LEAVE, Anyone that wants to see this man live, LEAVE, OR ELSE DIE HERE AND NOW!" Kazuma threatened as every soldier felt their bones freeze, and the deadly aura from the newly arrived group holding their lord hostage was clearly noticed by everyone.

"Do as he says!" Idol commanded in a frightened tone, the soldiers threw away their weapons, some out of fear, others because Idol ordered it, but not all had thrown everything away. As the soldiers passed the group three soldiers suddenly tried to jump Kazuma with hidden daggers, but instead their daggers were parried by Darkness and heads severed by Iris at such speed it took the other soldiers a few seconds to understand the scene, before mass panic ensued about getting the fuck away from this group.

"To obvious," Kazuma scolded as he gestured for everyone to follow, before he stopped at the side of the door opening, which was obstructed by both dead bodies and different types of furniture.

"Naofumi, get everyone inside out of the way, Darkness is going to rush inside and remove the blockade you built here, give me a signal when you are ready!" Kazuma informed as he gestured for Darkness to get ready.

"{Shield Prison}, GO AHEAD!" Naofumi yelled, as Kazuma gestured for Darkness to attack, and the furniture got blasted away like nothing, if it hadn't been for everyone being in Naofumi's ball, they would probably have been severely injured.

After a few seconds of letting the dust settle, Naofumi let the ball disappear to reveal a pissed off maid with a torn dress, three sweaty girls and one bloody Naofumi. Which sent shivers down Kazuma and Megumin's spine immediately as they saw the sight.

"Are you hurt!?" they demanded to know as they rushed forward to inspect him themselves.

"This isn't my blood, it is theirs," Naofumi angrily said as he pointed to the dead soldiers in the doorway.

"We have to double check, now off with all of this," Megumin ordered as she undressed her son at a masterful speed, having honed the skill over many years of having to dress and undress her sons for different occasions.

"{Create water}" Kazuma chanted as all the blood on Naofumi got washed away by his water torrent.

"I AM NOT HURT! STOP THIS!" Naofumi roared in annoyance at his parents persistence, and when they could see that his upper body had no cuts or bruises they let go of him.

It might have been all the adrenaline from the fight they just had, or it might have been already lingering feelings, but when Raphtalia and Melty saw the naked upper body of Naofumi, they couldn't help but get a little bit excited by what they saw. Naofumi's training and time in this world had clearly done something good for him.

"Ok, so what do we do with the Alderp-rip-off here?" Darkness asked as she flung him inside the room, making him land on his collarbone, which immediately snapped from the impact.

"AAAAAH!" The man screamed in agony as Raphtalia recognized the man… I mean monster.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH SCUM!" Raphtalia shouted with pure rage at the despicable man bound in front of her, as he whined in agony.

"How dare a filthy demi-" his words were cut short by Raphtalia kicking his face so hard that she knocked out two of his teethes.

"PLEASE STOP! I BEG YOU, SPARE ME!" Raphtalia kicked his obese body again this time cracking some of his ribs, the only sounds Idol made now was small whimpers as his eyes were filled with fear.

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT IT!" Raphtalia's anger and hate was so strong that it sent shudders down everyone's spine. "_So many, _so many demi-humans begged for their lives just like this, DID YOU EVER SPARE THEM, SO WHY SHOULD I SHOW YOU SUCH MERCY!? YOU MONSTER!" Raphtalia roared her every word and insult filled with so much sorrow, pain and anger. Her eyes started to get watery as everyone could see this man had done something unspeakable to hurt her.

"You're not, it can't be, one of my enslaved villagers, a damned demi, WAIT! Wait a moment, you would've all been dead, the whole lot of you would have been dead if I hadn't taken you in like that!" Idol protested, but Raphtalia answered with putting her blade to his cheek drawing his blood, making him go back to his whimpering.

"ENOUGH WITH YOUR LIES, DO YOU THINK ALL THE ATROCITIES I HAVE SEEN YOU COMMIT WILL EVER BE FORGOTTEN, NOT TILL THE DAY I DIE! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" Raphtalia's pure hatred for this man was apparent to everyone, as she drew her blade back cutting deeper into his cheek as she prepared a swing to cut his head off.

He kicked back with all his strength to get as far away from Raphtalia as possible, but it looked more like a seal flopping over on its side to get sun on its stomach, on other words pathetic. I am sorry to all seals for comparing you to this monster.

"I-I am s-sorry I was wrong, I will apologize, I SWEAR!" Idol threw out empty promises as he begged for his life.

"**This scumbag here, HE TOOK RIFANA AND, AND HE,**" whatever he had done was clearly something that had scarred Raphtalia so deeply she didn't even want to say it.

"NO PLEASE DON'T! BUHUHUHU," He cried out in pain as he tried to roll over and prostrate himself, which made him look even more pathetic and helpless.

"Raphtalia, I can't imagine how you feel, but will killing him help you get closure?" Naofumi calmly questioned. "You've become stronger, and not just with your sword," He reminded her, which seemed to somewhat calm her, as she lowered her blade.

"You are a terrible person, a monster who put demi-humans through hell, then killed them, I will never forgive you, but if I kill you I won't be any different from the disgusting worm you are, so I have decided to let you live, that way you can atone for the sins you have committed," Raphtalia calmly informed the bound bag of walking fat in front of her, his face clearly twisting with anger what she just told him.

"DAMN YOU DEMI-HUMAN!" He yelled out in disgust and anger, but he wasn't able to do anything since he was bound by his own whip as Raphtalia kicked him in the balls.

"First, tell me where your torture chamber is, is it still in the same despicable location or have you moved your victims somewhere else?" Raphtalia interrogated as the scum bound by his own torture weapons laid on the ground trying to breathe.

"_y-yes_" he whimpered, earning him another kick to the stomach.

"I COULDN'T HEAR YOU, WAS THAT A "YES?"" Raphtalia asked sarcastically.

"YES, YES, YES, IT IS STILL THERE!" He yelled out in fear as he forced himself to speak, despite all the pain.

Kazuma walked out of the room, without saying a word.

"ARE THERE STILL PEOPLE ALIVE THERE OR JUST ROTTING CORPSES!" Raphtalia interrogated as she put her foot down onto his broken collarbone, causing him even more pain.

"AHLIVE THEEEEREE IS STIIIIL PEOPLE ALIIIIVE THERE!" He relented the information to them as he suffered through the pain.

"Master Naofumi, this might be too much to ask of you, but can we leave immediately to save the victims of this, MONSTER!?" Raphtalia said as she kicked him in anger again, breaking more of his ribs.

"If doing so would give you closure, then yes, I will support you," Naofumi confirmed.

"I am going to help you Raphtalia, not just because master said so, but because I like you," Filo happily stated

"If Naofumi goes with you, then I will come with you too," Megumin said as she took on a pose.

"Wherever my friends go, I will follow," Iris reaffirmed as she pulled out Calibur.

"I will help you free those innocent civilians from this evil lord, or else I can't call myself a crusader," Darkness heroically stated as she stuck her sword into the floor, which made Reichnott smile again.

"I will also lend you my assistance," Melty stated as she held her hand over her heart.

"Me and the my household can't lend you my direct help, but feel free to take what you need of supplies, from today I Lord Van Reichnott the ruler of the Reichnott region declare that we will grant the shield hero our full support, and aid in any way we see possible," He declared as he went down on a knee in front of Naofumi, his maid perfectly mirroring his actions.

"Thank you, we will be sure to take use of it," Naofumi accepted, now seeing that Reichnott was a man could be trusted.

"Where is Kazuma?" Raphtalia asked as she couldn't see or sense the man anywhere in the room.

"IF YOU WISH TO LIVE, I ORDER YOU ALL TO STAND DOWN AND SURRENDER, BUT IF YOU STILL WISH TO FIGHT I PROMISE YOU THAT DEATH WILL BE THE ONLY OUTCOME! FOR THE ONES THAT WISH TO LIVE SIT DOWN AND THROW AWAY YOUR WEAPONS, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T FACE ME!" Kazuma's voice rang out from the courtyard where about 190 soldiers were collected, many demoralized and scared of the man speaking from his makeshift megaphone.

"Found him," Naofumi stated as he looked out the window to see his father stand on top of a carriage as he loaded his gun.

"Does he plan to take them all prisoner?" Reichnott questioned.

"Well, it is the laziest way to win, so I am sure he would try," Megumin and Iris reaffirmed.

About 70 soldiers laid down their weapons and sat their asses down, since they had already either witnessed Kazuma's allies or Kazuma himself in action, while the rest felt confident they could take Kazuma on, it was 120 vs 1 after all. What is the worst that could happen. Kazuma only had 3 magazines left though, so if he was unlucky he would at least kill 90 soldiers, with his AR.

"GET HIM!" A commander ordered the massacre to begin. The next thirty seconds would just be filled with screaming and the thunderous sound of Kazuma's AR being fired. He killed the closest soldiers to himself in quick succession followed up by him shooting every commander still standing. After having only fired 20 shots the remaining will to fight in the soldiers faded away, to them it didn't seem like Kazuma would ever stop shooting, so they sat down in hoped of having their lives spared.

"WE SURRENDER, WE SURRENDER!" The last commander begged as he threw away his sword, before prostrating himself in front of Kazuma standing on top of the carriage.

"I ACCEPT YOUR SURRENDER, AND AS MY PRISONERS YOU WILL BE GRANTED CERTAIN RIGHTS, IN RETURN I DEMAND YOU BEHAVE OR IT WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES FOR EVERYONE!" Kazuma's enhanced voice sent shivers down every soldiers spine, as he said the word "consequences."

"WE ACCEPT! PLEASE JUST SPARE OUR LIVES!" The soldiers said in perfect sync, they were all equally scared by Kazuma's little show.

"CLEAN UP ALL YOUR DEAD COMRADES THAT FELL HERE TODAY AND GIVE THEM A PROPER BURIAL, ANY DISOBEDIENCE WILL BE HARSHLY PUNISHED!" Kazuma warned as the soldiers calmly started to walk towards their fallen comrades and pick them up. All of them had unfortunately gotten a bullet to the head, and their helmets didn't help in stopping them.

**Today's results**

**Soldiers Killed: **64 + 1 traitor

**Soldiers Captured: **171 + Lord Idol Rabier

**Equipment seized: **235 x chest plates, 178 x intact helmets, 57 x damaged helmets, 235 x swords, 235 x daggers, 400 x arrows, 237 x minor health potions

**Information gained: **A torture chamber still exists in Lord Idol Rabier's mansion, with an unknown amount of mistreated Demi-humans, residing inside. Raphtalia is a previous victim that was tortured.

**/In Idol's prison room**

"Idol Rabier, when the queen has returned you will be set on trial for your unjust treatment of Demi-humans," Melty informed the hogtied monster laying in a far too comfortable bed.

"They were slaves, I can do whatever I want with them," Idol countered.

"No, slaves are permitted to be used to do hard labor, or fight for you in battles, the law does not permit you to make slaves into your own sick sadistic dream, or murder them for simply existing, even slaves have certain rights," Melty sternly informed the pathetic man.

"You are also being put on trial for harming a fellow noble, just because he spoke up against you," Reichnott said as he pointed to his cheek, which he had refused to be healed my Melty.

"You were harboring devils, I am justified, if not by the throne, then by God!" He frantically countered.

"The only devil here is you Rabier, and your sentence will most likely be decided by your victims, and if they are all dead then you will join them," Melty informed, as she took her leave with Reichnott behind her. A maid served Idol water and bread before she exited the room herself and locked the door behind her.

Reichnott and Melty entered a new room, with everyone else waiting for them. Masked Kazuma sat opposite of the host with Megumin on his right and Iris on his left. Naofumi sat next to Megumin, with Raphtalia next to him, and Filo next to her again, while Darkness sat next to Iris. Reichnott seated himself in his chair, and Melty sat on Reichnott's right side.

"One would almost think you are the patriarch of this house if one walked in to see this," Reichnott joked to start the conversation.

"Trust me if I wanted to, it would be, but you have proven yourself as a friend and ally of Naofumi, so I will consider myself your guest, and I will be sure to compensate you for your hospitality," Kazuma politely said as he threw a bag of gold coins onto the table.

"I thank you, but since it was a traitor from my staff that were behind today's ruckus I would wish for the shield hero to have the money, as compensation for my failure as a host," Reichnott apologized as he gestured to Naofumi.

"Very well, I think it is better if I take this off to show you my trust Reichnott," Kazuma said as he took off his mask to reveal his face, which made the lord smile warmly.

"Good to finally meet you, Kazuma, father of the shield hero," Reichnott said as he saw Kazuma's face, finally putting all the pieces together.

"Likewise, Van Reichnott," Kazuma retorted.

"But let us get on with the planning, I can't hold 172 captives fed for an extended period of time, much less keep them all hidden from other people coming to investigate, do you have a solution for this problem?" Reichnott asked.

"I do, but doing so will take the entire day for me, and in the meantime we need Naofumi and the others to free Rabier's victims, and transport them back here," Kazuma relayed.

"Wait, teleporting is a taxing feet in itself, weren't you spent after just teleporting back and forth a few times?" Megumin interjected.

"I can take with me 5 people at one time, which drains a quarter of my mana, but since we have access to a lot of manatite I should be able to do 35 trips with the prisoners to hill and then back again 35 times, without any problems," Kazuma informed.

"Ok, but you can still develop teleport sickness if you do too many, too quickly, so you will have to take a 10 minute breather for every back and forth transit,"

"What are the possible consequences if he develops teleport sickness?" Naofumi asked.

"In mild cases nausea, vomiting and temporarily blindness, in severe cases brain damage, coma or death. It usually only happens if you teleport repeatedly over a short amount of time, normally you would have to do 20 teleportation transits in less than 10 minutes to develop even weak symptoms, but since Kazuma is using the teleport spell in a way no one has used it before we need to be careful," Megumin argued.

"But what will our roles be in the meantime?" Iris asked, while pointing to herself and Darkness.

"You two will be the guards of the prisoners here until I have transported them all to their new labor camps in Belzberg, I don't want to risk you guys might being reset again, in the meantime Naofumi will go with Filo, and Raphtalia to discretely extract the victims,"

"What if they need healing, shouldn't I be with them?" Melty interjected.

"Hmm, we could take a carriage with us where we could put the victims, and then Melty can provide healing to them while traveling back here, and for protection I can be with Melty," Megumin suggested.

"Wouldn't it be better if I came with as protection, while Megumin stayed here with you, I bet her presence is much better at keeping the prisoners in check than mine," Darkness argued.

"That is a good point Lalatina, but me not being here is much better option for keeping everything as covert as possible, while you guys are doing the prisoner transits," Megumin said, which made Darkness' eye twitch involuntarily.

"In the meantime I will make sure my loyal subjects insist that this army haven't passed through here at all, while doing their best to halt any curious visitors, with that I think our strategy meeting is over, and now it is time to execute it," Reichnott said as he rose from his seat.

"Very well, but could I get to talk with my son in private for a little bit?" Kazuma asked.

"That will be no problem, I will leave you to it," Reichnott complied as he left the room with everyone following behind him, except of course Naofumi and Kazuma.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Naofumi asked, still completely serious.

"Take this," Kazuma said as he handed him a heart-shaped locket.

"What is this?" Naofumi asked curiously as he received the locket and started to study it.

"That is a locket containing a valuable tear of joy from goddess Eris, I thought it might be better to give you this," Kazuma informed with a slight smile.

"What can I use it for?" Naofumi asked as he inspected the locket closer.

"If you drink it directly it would boost your luck to an insane amount for a short period of time, if you keep the tear on you in the locket it would be more of a good luck charm, but I advise you to smelt it with something, which also has been done with this katana," Kazuma said as he pulled out Chunchunmaru and handed it to his son.

"So someone smelted a tear of joy with this Katana to make it stronger?" Naofumi asked now clearly intrigued by all of this new information.

"Not exactly, this katana has probably been smelted with the blood of Eris, but I don't know if her blood or her tear of joy would yield more power, simply because I haven't tried to compare them before, but this tear is now yours to do with as you wish," Kazuma said as Naofumi unsheathed Chunchunmaru.

"Interesting, I want to see if I can replicate this," Naofumi noted, as he got a little cocky and tried to swing the katana, but then he instantly got shocked which made him drop the katana.

"Hey be careful with Chunchunmaru," Kazuma scolded as he picked the katana up again and sheeted it.

"Who came up with such a weird name for that katana?" Naofumi asked.

"Your mom, your mom came up with the name for my katana," Kazuma regretfully informed him.

"Ah, that explains it," Naofumi said in realization as he remembered back to when he had won a teddy bear and asked his mother what he should call it, and she answered "Hyoizaburoo," but that bear didn't last long anyway since Chomusuke ripped it to pieces overnight.

"With that done I wish for your safe return," Kazuma said as he rose from his chair and put his mask back on and left the room, leaving his son with a very valuable item.

**And that will be that for this chapter, May was pretty hectic with exams and everything so this took me a lot of time. I have something special planned for Idol Rabier, aka. sadist scum later on. Otherwise I hope you liked this chapter, even though it wasn't as long as the last one.**


	11. POW

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 11:

**Naofumi, Raphtalia, Filo, Megumin and Melty are sitting in a carriage not far from the town owned by the noble Idol Rabier. Their mission is to locate and covertly extract demi-humans or other unfortunate souls trapped in Idol's underground torture chamber. In the meantime Kazuma had been teleporting the soldiers that attacked Reichnott's mansion to Belzberg to both hide them and keep them under control. The soldiers feared the worst possible treatment when they came to this new country, but let us see what really happened to them.**

"Care to explain why you suddenly show up with these soldiers dad?" Masaharu asked in an annoyed tone, working as a replacement leader was much harder than he had thought.

"They are currently prisoners of war, and I need your help with containing them," Kazuma informed, as the 5 soldiers tried to process that the guy in charge of this castle was calling their masked captor "DAD"

"Let me guess there are more than just these?" Robin said as she popped out of thin air startling all the soldiers while Kazuma remained unfazed, clearly she had been using {Lurk}.

"That is correct, I am bringing a total of 171 soldiers, and one rotten noble," Kazuma said as he saw his kids eyes grow as they heard the information.

"You are sure they are exactly 171?" They queried in unison.

"Yes, plus one rotten noble, which need to be imprisoned and kept away from his soldiers," Kazuma demanded.

"If he is a noble we will just give him the test mom started giving nobles under suspicion of crimes, to find the most suitable prison cell for them until they are put on trial, but about these soldiers," Masaharu said as he redirected the subject back to the soldiers.

"Yes, there will be 171 soldiers, they are all level 1, I already checked," Kazuma relayed as he gestured back to the now very nervous soldiers.

"Wonderful, that is the exact amount of people we need for building the new school!" Masaharu exclaimed happily, making the soldiers think about hard working hours and little food.

"Ok, glad I can help, just put them to work while I go and get more, be back in 10 minutes," Kazuma said as he vanished from thin air.

"So, that is your dad?" A brave soldier fearfully asked.

"YES!" Robin proudly exclaimed while Masaharu reluctantly nodded, sending shivers down the soldiers spines remembering how Kazuma had killed so many soldiers in little time.

"Well, we have to establish something VERY IMPORTANT!" Masaharu said as he rose from his throne, as he reached for something in his breast pocket, making all the soldiers sweat nervously.

"You don't have to, we get it," the brave soldier spoke again.

"No, not doing this now will just lead to suffering and possibly death later down the line if not taken care of now," Masaharu argued as he was struggling with retrieving something from his breast pocket making the soldiers go down on their knees and beg for mercy, making Masaharu look on in confusion as his sister did her best to stifle her laughter.

"What's up with them? I just wanted them to take note if anyone had any food allergies we should know about," He said as he looked pleadingly back at his sister, which was now laughing hysterically at her oblivious brother.

"They thaha, they thought you were going to hurt them and you didn't even notice, OH MY, that is just too funny," Robin was able to explain in-between her hysterical laughter, making the soldiers look on in confusion as they now stared at Masaharu holding a note block outstretched to them.

"So, we just register all the soldiers and their food allergies?" The brave soldier asked in disbelief, as he took the note block from Masaharu's hand and stared at it like a block of gold.

"Well, for now, after that you have to help us build some places for all you POWs to sleep and eat, then we can start building the new school," Masaharu explained as the soldiers took all this in.

"Do we get to build our own barracks?" Another soldier asked.

"Technically yes, but there will be experienced construction workers on the field with you, that will instruct you how to build, and how not to build," Masaharu informed, making the 5 soldiers stare at each other in astonishment.

"But, where will we live until the barracks are ready?" the brave soldier asked, fearing the answer.

"Each soldier will be living with a retired soldier's family, a handbook on what is expected of a POW and their rights will be instructed in this book, which is written by the royal family of Belzberg," Robin said as she tossed a little handbook to the brave soldier which he quickly opened and started to read, all their eyes going wide as he read out loud.

**Meanwhile outside Idol Rabier's domain**

"It is really quiet," Naofumi noted as he looked at a few soldiers walking at the gate.

"So how are we going to get inside?" Raphtalia asked, her voice a little strained, as she paced back and forth nervously.

"I think what is left here is a skeleton crew, so we could try and knock them out and get through the gate forcefully, if successful we would have a secure way for the victims to be extracted through," Raphtalia quickly suggested.

"I would rather like for you to use {All First Hiding} on us to make us invisible, then find another way in that the guards won't patrol, and then get the victims out of that shithole," Naofumi suggested

"Finding another way in will take more time than just knocking out the guards and securing the gate, and then we will bring the carriage through and load up the victims and quickly escape," Raphtalia argued, it was clear she was impatient.

"What if one of the guards get away and alert the others, what do you think will happen to the victims, do you think the soldiers will just leave them alone, they are probably going to keep them hostage if it means they will survive," Naofumi warned, but Raphtalia stood by her plan.

"You could combine the two, use Raphtalia's skill to survey the guards on the gate and then if it is certain you can take them all down at once, do it, but if that isn't a viable strategy, find another way in," Megumin shot in, which seemed to please both of them.

Raphtalia then used {All First Hiding} on herself, Naofumi and Filo. They then silently started to creep up to the gate, without anyone noticing them. If Kazuma had been there he would have scolded Naofumi and Filo for being so clumsy, but Raphtalia executed an almost flawless crawl towards the position. Only another expert in stealth would have any chance of detecting her, but the same couldn't be said for Naofumi and Filo. However, Raphtalia's skill was more than enough to fool these drunk guards.

"Did you hear anything?" A guard with bright red cheeks drunkenly asked as he heard some rubble rustling.

"You are trying to distract us again, so you can cheat, it was probably just a mouse or a cat," another guard stinking of booze retorted as the two others grunted in agreement with his statement, they were clearly too drunk to perform coherent speech.

"Ok, enough of this, I am going all in," the 2nd guard said as he pushed his last 30 silver coins onto the table.

In response the 3rd guard pushed in his share of money before he finally passed out, the 4th quickly following suit, while the 1st soldier threw in 30 of his silver coins with a big smirk on his face.

"Ok, show them," the 1st guard demanded as he confidently leaned back.

"Read them and weep," the 2nd guard stated as he revealed that he had three kings.

"Hahaha, I win!" the 1st guard laughed heartily as he revealed that he had three queens.

"Dumbass, we are playing poker, the kings are higher than the queens," the 2nd guard scolded as he smacked away the hands of the 1st guard that was trying to rake in all the money.

"We are playing Melromarc poker, which means the queens are above the kings," the 1st guard argued as his tone got rougher.

"WE ARE PLAYING NORMAL POKER YOU SHITHEAD!" the 2nd guard yelled as he pulled out his sword and tried to take a swing at the other guard, but he was too drunk to hold the sword properly so instead of chopping off the head of his opponent he clumsily threw it in his face.

"YOU JUST TRIED TO KILL ME, YOU BASTARD!" The 1st guard yelled in anger as he struggled to draw his own sword, finding it too difficult he eventually decided to just use his fists instead, as he got on top of the 2nd guard and started to relentlessly pummel him.

"WHAT IS ALL THIS RUCKUS ABOUT?! SOLDIER GET OFF HIM IMMEDIATELY OR I AM RUNNING MY SWORD THROUGH YOU!" A commander with red triangle painted on his chest ordered as he masterly drew his sword, and when the drunk soldier didn't stop punching his pinned down comrade he got the commander's sword in his side, killing him almost instantly.

"Oh fuck, what a mess, two passed out drunk soldiers, one unconscious and a dead one, why did I get all the useless idiots, couldn't I have gotten like at least 1 that doesn't drink, well I will have to call for reinforcements, can't really hold the gate alone," The commander mumbled to himself as he pulled out a bag and pocketed all the money laying on the table, with a slight grin.

(This is going to be easy) Raphtalia thought as she quickly got up behind the commander and

promptly knocked him out with the blunt side of her sword.

"You heard him, we now have control over this gate, let's bring the carriage here as quickly as we can," Raphtalia said as she ended the spell, making them all visible.

"Ok, Filo get back to Megumin and Melty and bring the carriage her as quickly and covertly as you can," Naofumi ordered.

"What does covertly mean?" Filo asked, curious about this new word.

"It means that you have to be silent when you bring the carriage down here, understood?" Naofumi explained.

"Yes master, I will be as quick as I can," Filo said as she sprinted off at a frightening speed.

"I will bind these up master Naofumi, while you find a way to open this gate so we can get the carriage through," Raphtalia said as she pulled out some rope and started to tie all of the still alive soldiers together, while staying as far away as possible from the new corpse.

After a few minutes Naofumi was able to unlock the gate as he started to push it open, the gate had been oiled well so it was easy to open and close when one needed to. Naofumi then went over to the bag of money and pocketed it, Raphtalia acknowledged the action, but didn't mention it. Then after a few more minutes the cart was being dragged by a speeding Filo, with absolutely no regard for silence.

"See master I was really quick, what is my reward?" Filo asked excitedly as Melty and Megumin stumbled out of the carriage.

"Filo, at least warn us before you start dragging the carriage along," Melty reprimanded as she dusted herself off.

"But master told me to be as quick as I possibly could be, so I had no time to explain," Filo excused.

"I also told you to be sneaky, but it doesn't matter doesn't look like anyone noticed," Naofumi noted as he got onto the carriage, while Raphtalia took control of the reigns.

After a few minutes of this calm riding they came to a stone staircase leading underground, which sent chills down Chomusuke's back as she felt the negative energy emanating from this place. She had the aspect of violence, but this was just pain, suffering and despair. No justified violence had been performed here, only pure sadism. She would remember to claw out the eyes of that fat bastard when she saw him again.

"This is the underground area Idol imprisoned his demi-human prisoners, and where he tortured them for hours on end, the only thing we could hear every day was screams of pain, until he either got tired or his victim passed out, he… took pleasure from it. That sick smile adorning his disgusting face as he raised his whip to lash someone, he is a monster!" Raphtalia told them as she gripped the hilt of her sword.

"You don't have to do this Raphtalia," Naofumi said as he saw how much the memories pained her, but she didn't even look back at him as she started to walk down the staircase.

"It's ok, I am going to be alright," She retorted as she did her best to stay calm as she took a seemingly confident step after confident step down the staircase, her rage barely hidden behind a thin mask.

"Mel, are you feeling ok?" Filo asked worriedly as Melty pinched her nose to avoid the smell of rotting flesh, piss and shit that was close to making Melty throw up, the smell was so overwhelming the she could barely nod in response.

(Let me be wrong, let me be wrong) Raphtalia frantically thought as she calmly opened the metal gate, making it creak open. As she took slow steps forward to the closest cell.

Raphtalia reluctantly looked into the cell seeing nothing but chains, her angst only increased as she gazed upon the rusty chains that had been used to hold her in place as that scum whipped her.

(Raphtalia was trapped in a place like this, doesn't take much imagination to think what happened here… it makes me SICK) Naofumi angrily thought as he followed behind Raphtalia.

"There is a survivor!" Megumin said as she ripped the cell door of its hinges with her brute strength, catching everyone's attention, the adult male demi-human was too tired to get scared by her feat.

"What happened to him?" Naofumi asked looking at the demi-human, which was half-rabbit. His limbs lay limp on his side as he tried to look up at the new people in his cell, but quickly gave up.

"_P-p-please, j-just leave me alone,_" he pleaded with great effort, which made Melty instinctively cast {Zweite aqua heal} which filled the cell with the sounds of bones reattaching and a surge of energy overwhelming the poor demi-human as he fell unconscious.

"Cough, COUGH!" a female fox demi-human coughed loudly, and when they got into her cell they saw her hanging upside down with a bloody belly, she had clearly been left like this after being whipped until she was almost dead.

"{First heal}" Naofumi chanted, mending her wounds shut, as Raphtalia cut the chains off, finally freeing the poor woman.

"It will all be fine now, please rest now," Raphtalia calmly reassured her.

"_Thanks,_" the woman was barely able to utter through her blood crusted lips, before she also fell unconscious.

"There is another one over here," Filo alerted them as they rushed into the last cell, what they saw was a demi-human with dog-like features. To Naofumi it looked like a little boy that had been beaten until he had passed out.

"KEEL!" Raphtalia screamed as she rushed over to the poor demi-human chained with one arm to the wall, quickly cutting the chains off Keel's arm.

"_Who are you?" _Keel asked with tired blue-eyes trying to figure out who the new people in the cell was.

"It's me, Raphtalia," she said with tears in her eyes.

"_no way, you can't be her,_" Keel said in disbelief.

"I am, don't you remember when I talked to the village and you were the first one to speak up and support me, you don't know how much that meant to me," Raphtalia said as she sent a Keel a wide smile.

In response Keel just stared on in shock, inspecting Raphtalia's face intently. (Am I dreaming, no I can still feel my bruises aching,) "But how!?" Keel managed to utter with more energy present.

"The shield hero saved me, and took me in to his party," Raphtalia happily informed as she carefully picked up Keel and let Naofumi come into Keel's vision.

"So he is real?" Keel asked, still wary of this new person, since he had such a menacing stare, and Keel could see that there was a lot of underlying hatred beneath those cold green eyes.

Before Keel could even react Naofumi had grabbed her arm and casted {First Heal}, which made most of the bruises go away after a minute, but the wounds on Keel's back would probably turn into nasty scars.

"YOU ARE REAL!" Keel yelled with uncontrollable exhilaration as wounds mended and HP recovered.

"So Keel, where is Rifana?" Raphtalia asked all of the sudden, her voice filled with hope, but Keel's mood took a total 180 when she mentioned the name.

"Uhm," Keel halted, but Raphtalia already feared the worst as she handed Keel over to Naofumi and sprinted down the hall to the innermost cell.

For every step Raphtalia took down that hall it felt like the smell of spoiled meat mixed with piss and shit increased tenfold, but she had to be wrong right now. Please let her be wrong, if there was one thing in this world she didn't want to see right now it was that. But fate was yet so cruel to allow the sight before her. In the last cell she had seen her friend Rifana laying, she now saw a corpse in her place, her bones picked clean by rats and worms with the same little flag Raphtalia had given her the day before she was sent back to slave merchant.

"NOOOHOOOO! NO!" Raphtalia screamed as her legs couldn't manage to hold her up anymore, all the despair and sadness from that day returned, the day she thought she would never smile again. Life was so unfair, why wasn't Rifana sent back to the slave merchant, it was Rifana's wish to marry the shield hero, and now it felt like she had stolen everything from her, and she couldn't return it. She couldn't even save her from this place, she was a horrible friend.

(I LIED, I LIED, I DIDN'T SAVE HER, THE SHIELD HERO DIDN'T SAVE HER!) She screamed in her head as tears streamed down her face

Her self-loathing was suddenly interrupted by Naofumi's firm hand on her left shoulder, with Megumin standing on her right, her crimson eyes glowing with anger, which made Keel try to instinctively hide behind Naofumi.

"It's not your fault for what happened to her here," Naofumi tried to reassure her, but it all felt fake. This happy life she had now just felt like something stolen and undeserved. If anything Rifana should be the one standing here with her master, not her. She started to cry again at the thought of never ever seeing Rifana again.

"You a-are WRONG!" Was the only thing she managed to utter between sobs, which made Megumin's magical aura grow thicker, making Chomusuke hide behind Naofumi.

"NO YOU ARE WRONG! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU THE REST OF US WOULD GIVE UP FIGHTING A LONG TIME AGO!" Keel managed to fight through his fear for Megumin's menacing aura and tell her the truth as bluntly as possible.

"But, I lied," Raphtalia tried to argue but Keel just continued.

"You gave us hope Raphtalia, even though all hope seemed lost you managed to give us a glimmer of light in this darkness, with your smile, and you didn't lie, you told us the shield hero would come to save us, and LOOK you are with the shield hero now, and you ARE rescuing us," Keel smiled and gave Raphtalia a hug.

"To me it sounds like you saved them twice," Melty pointed out as she walked into the cell, she didn't care about the smell if it meant she could comfort her friend.

Suddenly Raphtalia found herself in a space she could only describe as pure heaven and in front of her stood Rifana smiling brightly as the sun.

"Thank you Raphtalia for always being there for me, and please remember me," Rifana happily said as her smile washed away the feelings of despair that tugged

"I-I will, I promise I will never forget you Rifana," Raphtalia managed to say as her tears streamed down her face, only this time they were tears of joy.

"Maybe you can call your first daughter up after me, or maybe after something I like, like maple trees, might give you more choice," Rifana said with a teasing smirk on her face.

"What do you mea… OH MY!" Raphtalia suddenly flushed red as she understood what Rifana meant.

"Hehe, but at least bring my remains back to our village, I don't want my last resting place to be this hellhole, but this is it Raphtalia live on for me and other and GOODBYE!" Rifana happily said as she spun around and started to walk away.

"Of course, bye… _Rifana_," Raphtalia whispered to herself as she again was back in the cell, but the smell didn't bother her anymore, Naofumi, Keel, Melty, Megumin and Filo were all hugging her. After a long minute they broke away from the hug, Naofumi being the first and Megumin being the last.

"_If you want me to, I can blow this place to high hell,_" She whispered, and Raphtalia was about to say yes, but then she thought of all the other demi-humans that had died here and their remains, so it would have to wait.

"_Do it later, not now,_" Raphtalia whispered back to Megumin.

"Ok," Megumin quickly retorted as she started to drag her staff on the floor, while gently picking up the fox lady with her other hand as she went back to the carriage. Chomusuke went wide-eyed when she saw her mistress' action.

They had rescued a total of 3 demi-humans, and recovered the remains of Rifana. Without any further incidents. Since no guards were available to patrol the city streets, all the remaining guards had been put at the gates, and they had just taken out everyone at the main gate, so it was a simple task getting out again unnoticed.

When they had traveled for 10 minutes with Melty and Raphtalia making sure the victims were comfortable, Raphtalia heard a faint rumbling.

"Master Naofumi, something or someone is coming from the woods, and there is a lot of them," Raphtalia quickly relayed, as Naofumi silently ordered Filo to speed up, but he had to stop because the road was blocked by a bunch of filolials.

"What is going on?" Naofumi wondered as he saw more filolials surrounding their carriage.

"Don't worry you are not in danger," a calm voice rang out through the forest, before a giant, no, an enormous filolial emerged from the forest. Imagine Filo just about 100 times bigger.

"Meow," Chomusuke said, which translated to (What is your business here overcharged mana bird?)

"I am Fitoria and my business here is with the filolial queen candidate known as Filo, lazy cat," Fitoria responded to her insult in kind.

"Meow, meow," (Oh, so you can understand me, should I be scared of you, all I see is another bird with too much mana in them, my adopted brother Zell had more mana in him at birth than you have now) Chomusuke mocked as she jumped up on the roof of the carriage.

"Such audacity from a measly familiar, you realize I could kill you, right?" Fitoria said a little surprised by this weak creature's audacity.

"MEOW, meow, meoooow," (If my mistress were to release me from my seal I could take all of this world's wrath for myself and slaughter you in seconds, and even if you kill me my mistress will certainly destroy you in one blow, like she did me) Chomusuke informed as she gestured down to Megumin with one black paw.

"OK, so you can understand my familiar, and from the sounds of it, you don't like each other, but can you please stop insulting my familiar and get back on track," Megumin spoke before Fitoria managed to muster a response to Chomusuke.

"Very well, as I stated earlier I am here to talk to Filo, to see if she can become the next Filolial queen," Fitoria restated

"I can't leave Filo alone to be tested by you, we need to transport these survivors back to Lord Reichnott's mansion," Naofumi shot in.

"Worry not shield hero, you can bring your companions with you while my servants bring these victims to this lord you speak of," Fitoria informed.

"Meow," (Hey my neck is hurting, can't you bow down or something) Chomusuke said, clearly annoying Fitoria.

"Yes, this form isn't very suitable to converse with, give me a second," Fitoria said before she in a bright flash of light turned into a girl looking about the age of Filo and Melty, only with red eyes and silver white hair cut short.

"Are you done being awestruck now?" Naofumi said as he waved a hand in front of the wide-eyed princess with her mouth wide-open.

"I wasn't… I mean… It is the queen of all the filolials why wouldn't I be awestruck," Melty defended as she turned quite red.

"Now, if you would please come with me," Fitoria said as she gestured to another gloriously decorated carriage drawn by two filolias, as 4 other filolials took the reins of their specialized carriage and started to drag it away.

"We don't really have another option anymore," Naofumi stated as he saw the carriage with the three unconscious demi-humans getting dragged away.

As Raphtalia was the last one to embark the carriage, she looked back to the carriage in which her friend Keel were sleeping soundly, with the remains of Rifana and two other survivors. She was certain Keel would respect the remains of Rifana and keep them safe. So she sat in the carriage next to her master, still a little worried if they would get back safely.

**Meanwhile in Reichnott's mansion, 4 hours into the transfer process**

Kazuma sat in his chair waiting for the 10 minutes to pass so he could transport more soldiers, when all of a sudden Reichnott burst into the room followed by two maids.

"There is a problem right?" Kazuma guessed, seeing the expression of stress prevalent on the maids' faces, while Reichnott kept his cool.

"Indeed, it seems the spear hero and his party has come from the north, while the bow hero has arrived from the south, my subjects are doing their best to delay them, but at best I can only hope that they are kept distracted for an hour before reaching the mansion," Reichnott quickly summarized.

"Hmm, the only thing you need to keep the spear hero distracted would be potted plants, but the bow hero is another thing entirely, maybe a challenge to prove his worth as the bow hero would suffice, the kid seems very prideful and would probably get rather mad when he keeps losing," Kazuma planned.

"How do you intend to distract the spear hero with only potted plants?" Reichnott asked clearly intrigued.

"Well usually I would go and throw a potted plant in the back of his head while I was being stealthy, but since I am preoccupied at the moment, you should be a great replacement, how is your throwing arm?" Kazuma asked.

"I would say I can hit a still target most of the time, but if he moves I will have some difficulty hitting him with something as unwieldy as a potted plant, but it shouldn't be too much of a challenge, but who will challenge the bow hero?" Reichnott asked a little intrigued by this plan.

"Well, Iris would be the best option since she can twist her words like Megumin to always end up winning, and she is quite a capable fighter if it comes down to the worst, plus she would have reason to get back at him since he "scammed" her fiancé," Kazuma sarcastically said with a grin.

"Hmm, you must tell this story to me another time, but I will send for lady Iris so you can plan with her, meanwhile I would like to see the spear hero's reaction to a potted plant," Reichnott said before he left.

A few minutes went by before Iris came into the room, sword and armor at the ready.

"Challenge the bow hero, you can use the little trick he played on us as an excuse to challenge him for gold, offer him a double or nothing for every time you win," Kazuma quickly summarized.

"I got to change the challenges or else he will think it is useless to try when I beat him utterly," Iris thought out loud, and headed for the door.

"Iris, if he gets violent, you can kill his party members, but you can't under any circumstance kill the bow hero," Kazuma said with a dead serious tone, that sent shivers down Iris' spine.

"Understood, if it comes to the worst, don't kill the bow hero," She summarized before she left.

**PLING!**

(Looks like it is time to teleport another batch, but I think I will teleport the scum by itself) Kazuma thought as he rose from his chair and went down to Idol Rabier's cell.

"I am sorry if I am intruding on anything, but it is your turn to be transported," Kazuma coldly noted as he walked over to the fat man bound in the bed.

"Mpfh, MPFH!" Idol tried to get in an insult at the masked man in front of him, but the rope in his mouth made it difficult.

"Oh yeah, I heard one of the maids got tired of you screaming obscenities all the time so she shut you up," Kazuma recalled as he grinned at the pathetic man in front of him.

"Disgusting, but I can't get you with me unless I touch you, {Teleport}" He chanted and they were transported to the throne room with 5 POWs with notebooks and chairs, next to a stack of books that said, "**Rules and rights as a POW in Belzberg"**

"Oh, this must be the noble," Robin said as she waved for the POWs to leave, which they quickly did.

"Yeah, give him the test, {Teleport}" Kazuma said before he vanished again, leaving the bound pig on the floor.

"Hmm, they gagged you, I am going to let that stay on, until Sena is here with her equipment, try to make yourself comfortable on the floor in the meantime," Robin said before she left the throne room.

(What is this place? Where did that man bring me, never mind that, am I going to be tortured, I got to get out of here while I still can) Idol thought to himself as he trashed against the bindings until his pants ripped open, exposing his underwear to the world.

"Cover him up and put him in a chair, QUICKLY!" Sena ordered her soldiers the moment she entered the throne room.

They quickly did so, one of them fighting the urge to throw up as they saw the unsightly sight of the man's underwear. A table was placed in front of Idol with a bell on top of it, and Sena sat down on her own chair across from Idol, with a little notebook.

"Ok, this bell will ring every time you lie, but it will stay silent for when you are telling the truth, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Sena sternly asked, which Idol responded with by nodding hesitantly.

"Good, men you can now remove his gag," Sena ordered as one of the soldier cut the gag off with a knife.

"Where the fuck have you brought me!" Idol demanded as soon as he could talk again.

"You are in the kingdom of Belzberg," Sena quickly responded, and the bell didn't ring which made him a little worried.

"I have never heard of such a kingdom before, you have to be lying," Idol challenged, but Sena didn't react.

"Of course you haven't, you are from another world, now first question: What is your name and status?" Sena quickly brought things back

"I am Idol Rabier, a noble in the kingdom of Melromarc, and trust me when I say that god is on my side and I will have everyone that mistreated me hanged," He declared, and the bell didn't ring.

"Have you ever tortured someone for purely for your own pleasure?" Sena asked, totally unfaced by his comment, she knew the bell wouldn't ring if the person saying something truly believed what he/she was saying.

"NO!" **PLING.**

"Ok, have you ever tortured children?" She asked.

"I have never tortured children," **PLING.**

"Ok, I am now offering you three different prison cells you can stay in, when I am done presenting them to you, I want to know which one you feel you deserve," Sena calmly stated.

"We have a stone prison which only serves bread and water, with no bread and a worn out mattress and two blankets, the 2nd cell has a bed with both pillows and blankets and we serve three different warm meals a day, and lastly we have an open prison cell with maids that serve you whatever food you would want, which one do you believe you deserve to stay in?" Sena asked as she looked at the fat man in front of her with cold eyes.

"I believe I deserve to stay in the 2nd cell," **PLING**.

"Do you believe you deserve to stay in the first cell I mentioned?" Sena asked as she noted his answer.

"Y-yes, that is what I truly believe," **PLING.**

"Ok, you will be staying in the 1st cell I mentioned, since you are a POW we can't sentence you, but this testimony will be sent back with you when/if your country sends a request for your return, consider yourself lucky Idol Rabier, because torture is illegal in Belzberg," Sena said as she rose and the soldiers started to drag Idol with them to his new life in prison.

The moment Sena had gotten out of the room she punched a hole through the wall. "_That monster deserves to die a thousand deaths,_" she angrily muttered to herself.

"You won't have to pay for that, since I heard everything and I already did the same thing to another wall, just please don't make a habit of it," Masaharu said as he walked up to Sena.

"Thank you for your kindness and understanding my king, I will make sure to avoid taking my anger out on the castle," Sena said as she bowed.

"Nah, don't say that to me, you are much older than me, just consider me a co-worker, feels wrong that the woman that once babysat me is now calling me king, if you are going to call me anything call me head chef," Masaharu quickly said.

"Very well, if that is what you wish," Sena said as she bowed another time before she promptly left.

**Meanwhile with the spear hero**

"No, I don't want to buy your wheat," Motoyasu complained as he tried to push past the demi-human farmer.

"But this is top-quality wheat, if prepared properly it might even grant you extra stamina," The demi-human lied, which seemed to pique Motoyasu's interest.

"Don't listen to him Sir Motoyasu, that filthy demi-human is just lying so you will buy his wheat," Bitch… I mean Malty declared as her green eyes stared daggers at the poor demi-human.

"How dare you try to scam me, THE SPEAR HERO HIMSELF," Motoyasu instantly believed her and went up in the face of the poor farmer, which made the poor farmer take hurried steps backwards in fear, which also made him fall and lose a bunch of his wheat on the ground.

"I am sorry please forgive me," He pleaded as he tried to collect his wheat.

"{Zweite hellfire}" Malty chanted and a burst of fire shot out from her hand which instantly scorched the wheat of the farmer, but he was luckily quick enough to get out the way.

"A filthy demi-human like yourself was probably going to try and sell that overpriced wheat to some other poor fool, but now you have to go and do honest work for once," Myne mocked as she looked at the now burning wheat.

"I hope the heavens fall on your head, you heartless monster!" The farmer yelled at Malty, angering her immensely.

"How dare-" She didn't get to say anymore because a potted plant hit her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs, and the red wig off her head.

"EEK!" Motoyasu gave out an involuntary scream as he jumped away from his now bald companion.

(Poor farmer Somerson, I am sorry my demand lead this to happen) Reichnott thought as he put a little bit of gold in mister Somerson's pockets, as he sneakily passed him.

"WHO THREW THAT!?" Motoyasu screamed a little bit too high-pitched and desperate to sound manly/heroic, while moving frantically around.

Suddenly Motoyasu could feel something shatter on his back, in response he turned around and chanted "{Lightning spear}" which sent out a lighting attack, which connected with a proud oak tree that had been planted 50 years ago.

"Did I get him!?" Motoyasu asked worried as he looked at the burning tree, he was answered by a money shot to groin, and if it hadn't been for Motoyasu's newly acquired groin protectors he would have been in immeasurable pain. Instead he just fired of another attack, that almost hit poor farmer Somerson.

(Ok, I am terrible at throwing these things, well I might as well just do this) Reichnott thought as he ran with the wind direction and smacked the potted plant in Motoyasu's face, sending him to the ground on his ass. To a spectator it looked like the thing appeared from thin air just before it struck Motoyasu.

"{ZWEITE FIRE ARROW}!" Myne screamed as she shot a fire arrow blindly, which unfortunately hit poor mister Somerson's home.

"MY HOUSE!" Somerson uttered in both disbelief and panic as he rushed to the house and tried to helplessly put it out with a bucket of water, after 5 minutes of this he gave up and watched on in despair as his house quickly burnt down.

(Ok I don't care if you are the princess, no one makes happy mister Somerson sad and gets away with it scot-free) Reichnott thought as he again rushed with the wind and smacked a potted plant in the back of Malty's head, knocking her out.

"MYNE! Ok, I am getting us out of here, finding Naofumi can wait this place is too dangerous," Motoyasu said to himself as he picked up the piece-of-shit-woman and ran the way he just came.

(That was surprisingly effective, note to self: Repay Mr. Somerson back tenfold) Reichnott thought as he went back to his mansion.

He met on his other two party members that were lagging behind, because they had to drag all their supplies. But when they saw Motoyasu with a panicked looked on his face and a knocked out Myne in his arms, as he ran towards them, they knew that they had to start walking the other way. Which they honestly thought was worth it, because they didn't like Myne that much since she always undermined them, so seeing her bald and knocked out was a wonderful sight for sore eyes.

**Meanwhile in the south with the bow hero**

"Get away from master Itsuki you filthy DEMI!" Flashy armor guy yelled as he punched a young cat-boy in the stomach.

"I-isn't that a bit much?" Rishia timidly challenged as she did her best to carry three bags worth of proviant.

"Are you defending the demi-human that tried to touch master Itsuki!?" Another female archer demanded an answer as she put an arrow on her bowstring, clearly trying to intimidate Rishia

"Ehm… I just… I just don't think punching him was necessary," Rishia hurriedly tried to explain.

"I have unfinished business with you bow hero," Iris said in a threating tone as she confidently walked up to block their path.

"Oh, look it's that stupid merchant's fiancé," A party member pointed out, which made them all chuckle a little, except for Rishia since she was focusing more on breathing at the moment.

"What unfinished business do you have with me?" Itsuki asked.

"You stole from my beloved, and such an act cannot be just forgiven," Iris accused as she started to put on a show.

"I didn't steal anything, I simply outsmarted him with my skills, and I didn't take his bow from him," Itsuki proudly proclaimed, which made Iris grit her teeth to choke back a laughter.

"T-that might so be, but you still made a fool out of him, so I challenge you to a duel, if I win you will pay me 300 gold pieces," Iris was able to say, while looking and sounding completely serious.

"And when I win, what do I get?" Itsuki asked, already believing the battle to be won, since he could see that Iris was shaking slightly, which he mistook as fear.

"IF and I mean IF you were to win, you will get my armor and 100 gold pieces, do you accept, bow hero?" Iris questioned with real contempt in her voice.

(Easy winnings, a woman that is scared of me should be simple enough to knock out) "I do accept, prepare to-" Itsuki had to dodge out of the way of Iris' foot.

"Hey that is cheating!" The bow hero complained, but before he was able to get a track of where Iris were, he felt a stinging sensation to his stomach as all the air in his lungs were knocked out of him, and then he found himself on the ground with Iris' sword up to his neck.

"I win," Iris stated rather matter of factly.

"YOU DID NOT, YOU CHEATED!" Itsuki angrily yelled at her with his companions stunned silent by the speed this woman had just shown.

"Very well, what is a fair fight in your opinion then, bow "hero"?" Iris challenged as she pulled her sword back from his neck and took a few steps away from him.

"We will be 50 meters apart, the first one to knock the other one down is the winner, does that sound fair to you?" Itsuki asked still a little shaken by this woman's power display.

"It does," Iris said as she left a dust cloud behind before she stood 60 meters away from him.

"Heh, now I will use her fiancé's bow against her with {Eagle Piercing shot}!" Itsuki chanted as his bow changed into a perfect replica of Kazuma's bow, and fired a shot.

(So fucking obvious, but can't have him knowing we scammed him so might as well deflect it) Iris thought as the arrow came straight towards her and at the last second she hit it with her sword and made the shot hit a pile of pumpkins instead of her.

"{Arrow shower}" Itsuki chanted making a bunch of arrows leave his bow at once. "Let me see you deflect all of those,"

"{Projectile counter}" Iris chanted making all of Itsuki's arrows go straight back at him.

"{First Wind Blow}" Rishia chanted making all of the arrows go off course, making sure no arrows hit her party members.

"How dare you interfere with my duel, you IDIOT!" Itsuki angrily roared at Rishia, making her cower in fear

"That girl just saved herself and your party members from getting hit by a volley of arrows, and you don't even have the common decency to thank her," Iris scolded as she slowly stepped forward.

"Shut-up that doesn't count, I wasn't going to be hit by that volley anyway," Itsuki stated with confidence, with no regard for his party members well-being.

"You didn't listen, well I better stop you before you create more collateral damage," Iris noted to herself, before she ran straight at Itsuki, catching him totally off guard as she deflected every single shot to the ground in front of Itsuki, that kicked up a lot of dust making it harder for him to aim.

Iris finally ended the battle by throwing a rope around his feet as she crashed into him with her momentum and in one smooth motion put her sword to his neck again. "I win, AGAIN!" Iris said now a bit of anger showing as she spoke.

"That is… not possible," Itsuki said to himself in stunned silence.

"It is possible, but instead of gold, I would like for the green haired girl to be my price, oh and leave this area, I don't want my fiancé to see your ugly face around when he is doing LEGIT business,"

"Fine! Take her, she is useless anyway," Itsuki and his party quickly agreed to Iris' demands as they started to walk back the way they came.

"NO MASTER ITSUKI, PLEASE RECONSIDER, I BEG OF YOU TO PLEASE RECONSIDER YOUR DECISION! PLEASE, SOMEONE! HELP ME!" Rishia cried as she went down on her knees and begged, but as her former party members approached her they only picked up all their things and ignored all her cries of help to avoid this.

"It's going to be ok, you don't need him," Iris said as she went down on her knees and started to comfort the young girl.

"But, but… I love him," Rishia managed to utter in-between her crying, as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Oh, you poor thing, that boy doesn't deserve you," Iris said to comfort her as she let Rishia cry on her shoulder. After a few minutes she picked up the distraught girl and carried her back to the mansion.

**Meanwhile with Darkness and the remaining soldiers**

"_Harry, what do you think that masked man is doing with everyone upstairs,_" Alberton quietly asked his longtime friend.

"_Don't freak out right now Alby, I heard they were getting rid of us,_" Harold answered in a silent whisper.

"_Fuck, ok, do you have a plan which allows us to escape?_" Alberton asked while wiggling over to Harold.

"_I do, but don't you dare tell my wife about this if it works, promise?_" Harold inquired.

"_Sure, how we escaped will be our little secret, Sarah won't hear a peep from me, just do whatever you need to,_" Alberton assured his friend.

"_Ok, observe, _Hey guard can you come over here, I need to ask a question," Harold caught Darkness' attention, and she quickly walked over.

"Yes, you have my attention, ask away," She said with a happy smile.

"What would we have to do for you, so we could be allowed to run away? We are willing to do ANYTHING!" Harold asked, which shocked Alberton.

"Hmm, well you would have to beat me mercilessly until I eventually pass out," Darkness answered honestly.

"We can't beat you mercilessly if we are bound like this though," Another soldier listening in joked, not believing that she would actually release them from their shackles.

"You make a good point, here use my sword to cut yourself free, and you can happily leave when I have passed out," Darkness said hiding her grin as she dropped the sword at the soldier's feet.

Without any form of hesitation the soldier tried to pick up the sword so he could cut himself free, but he wasn't strong enough to even budge it, so it just lay there on the floor. When the other soldiers saw this they also came over to help him lift it, but they had to settle for just lifting it onto its side and grinding their ropes on the blade.

(Ah, much more comfortable, I am just going to sit here that woman is far too strong if her sword takes 10 men to just place on its side) A soldier quickly deduced as he lay back into the hay, but the others were desperate so they attacked Darkness with all the power that they could muster.

"AHH!" Harold started screaming as he broke his fingers on her armor.

"FUCK!" Alberton swore loudly as his leg broke from kicking Darkness' leg at the same time as she moved it.

The other soldiers didn't get that serious damages, just a few bruises since the two first screaming participants had discouraged the rest from going all out. Some even rebound themselves because it was too embarrassing to say that they beat themselves up in an escape attempt.

"You know Alby, I think dying is probably the better option for us after this embarrassment," Harold deduced as he looked at his hand.

"I agree Harry, death will be a great mercy after this," Alberton agreed as he limped over to his friend.

"You guys aren't going to die, you are just being transferred to a POW camp, no need to worry boys," Darkness tried to comfort them as she casually picked up her sword and sheathed it.

At that sudden revelation they started to cry uncontrollably. The physical pain was nothing compared to having to live with this shame for the rest of their now very long lives.

(Look how happy they are to know they won't die) Darkness happily thought to herself as she went back to her post, with some guards silently chuckling, while the others were crying loudly.

**Meanwhile with Keel and the other survivors**

The wagon was speeding along at a blazing speed, the way in front of the filolials were clear to them. Their queen had put out the route they were supposed to run, they all knew how the carriage and the other filolials would react to their every step. Then all of the sudden they started to slow down until they came to a stop and started to sleep.

"Let me see," a shadowy figure spoke as they went inside the carriage.

Blue flashes started to go on in the carriage. The first three flashes lasted three seconds, but then 5 second long flashes started to go off repeatedly, each 5 second flash got more intense than the last. 100 flashes went off and the last was so bright that it lit up 5 kilometer area, making some animals think it was morning.

A figure retreated from the carriage before it went back into the forest, the moment the figure was gone the sleeping filolials awoke and restarted their journey towards Reichnott's mansion. The remains of Rifana gave off a glim glow of blue, but it quickly faded.

**Good god this did take a long to make for me. Totally my fault for taking a bit of a vacation, and I might have been struck by the RE: Zero addiction. Don't worry I will get another chapter out, quicker than this one got out. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter though.**


	12. The Worthy

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 12:

**Reichnott's mansion got three simultaneous arrivals. The return of the mansion's Lord, a rider less carriage dragged by 4 filolials, and Iris carrying a green haired girl in her arms while awkwardly trying to comfort her. However more pressing matters were developing in a secret spot, located in a forest. The pressing matter, 100 hungry filolials staring longingly at the meal being eaten by their queen, Fitoria, and her guests.**

"OK! ENOUGH OF THIS! IF YOU WANT ME TO PREPARE YOU GUYS SOME FOOD, BRING ME A BUNCH OF INGREDIENTS AND THE BIGGEST POTS YOU GOT!" Naofumi commanded as he finally relented to the 200 eyes staring hungrily at him.

The moment the filolials heard his command they sprinted off in all directions, and after a few minutes they returned with some giant pots and a bunch of different ingredients just perfect for a stew. Some of them even brought properly chopped up firewood, with some dried heather.

"Where did they get all of that in such a short time?" Megumin questioned.

"They learn quite easily what is tasty around in the forest and what is not, and some of the older ones know how to chop wood with their claws, as well as what easily burns," Fitoria explained as she ate a spoonful of Naofumi's food, not giving off much of a reaction, other than closing her eyes.

"Well I better get started with this," Naofumi stated as he started to prepare the food. After having fed both his party and all the nearby filolials, the area was surrounded in silence as Naofumi and Fitoria were the only ones still awake.

"Do you have a moment for us to talk, in private?" Fitoria asked.

"Sure, lead the way," Naofumi quickly retorted.

As Fitoria lead Naofumi away from the pile of sleeping filolias and his comrades, one filolial sleep kicked Megumin. This woke her up in time to see Naofumi leaving, and her motherly instincts told her to follow after them.

"Hugh!" Fitoria let out a frustrated sigh after walking for some time.

"What's wrong with you?" Naofumi questioned.

"I am appalled, you cardinal heroes should all be ashamed, squabbling with each other when the next wave is fast approaching," Fitoria scolded.

"Give me a break, they started it, and my name has been dragged through the mud by the nobility and three heroes church in Melromarc," He defended.

"The shield hero has always been shunned by the human supremacist countries," Fitoria said as if Naofumi complained about something trivial.

"Ok, then you should understand, I can't get them to listen if I am made out to be the villain," Naofumi shot in.

"You should work it out regardless, the humans and demi-humans might hate each other, but the heroes must not fight amongst themselves," She lectured again, leaving Naofumi speechless as she walked ahead, staying silent until she sat herself down on a ledge.

Megumin was within earshot of them hidden behind a wall as Naofumi sat down next to Fitoria that was now stacking stones on top of each other.

"Don't you know about the hourglass? All four of you certainly should," Fitoria said with her head down, staring into the abyss below them.

"If you are talking about the dragon hourglass, then yeah, we all know about it," Naofumi confirmed.

"Then why aren't you fighting the waves of catastrophe across the world?" She queried, her tone rather stern.

"Wait a second, are you saying the waves of catastrophe don't just happen inside of Melromarc?" Naofumi asked to confirm her statement, Kazuma had told him about the merging of two worlds, but he thought the hourglass brought them to the area that was considered the biggest threat, and that happened to be in Melromarc.

She silently nodded, "No, they happen everywhere, the four heroes are meant to go to each their own hourglass every time there is a wave," Fitoria explained.

"My father told me why the waves happen, but he never told me that the heroes were supposed to be spread around to each their own area, I just thought the heroes were sent to the biggest threat of the wave," Naofumi told her, this time shocking her with his information.

"Wait, you are telling me you know why these waves are happening, did they tell you how to stop them from occurring?" She inquired as she looked at him with newfound interest.

"They happen because of some crazy "goddess" called Medea are merging worlds together after having killed the original gods and goddesses residing over them, so I assume if we somehow destroy her we can stop the waves of catastrophe from occurring in the first place," Naofumi explained, making Fitoria's thoughts shoot around wildly as she was presented with this new information.

Her own thoughts was such a big distraction in fact, that she didn't even notice the huge amount of mana being absorbed towards a single spot very close to them.

(Did he just say MEDEA, is that bitch STILL ALIVE, SO SHE IS THE REASON MY SON HAS BEEN BROUGHT INTO DANGER, IT IS AGAIN HER FAULT THAT MY LOVED ONES ARE IN DANGER, AND SHE IS A GODDESS NOW, I WILL BLOW A HOLE THROUGH SPACE AND TIME RIGHT NOW IF IT MEANS I CAN DESTROY HER THIS INSTANT!) Megumin frantically thought as she automatically started to absorb mana from the atmosphere with her staff, that she clutched harder for each second that passed.

(What is going on, OMG STOP) Chomusuke thought as she slapped her mistress in the face for almost draining her mana dry again, bringing Megumin out of her rage induced state. Chomusuke stared at Megumin with eyes filled with fear as Megumin looked back at her familiar with a confused look, trying to collect her thoughts again.

Megumin gave the cat a silent nod of approval as she went back to focusing on Naofumi's and Fitoria's conversation. Chomusuke that didn't have anything better to do, joined her mistress in the task.

"The hero who raised me, asked me to protect the world and keep its people safe, but honestly, what happens to the humans wouldn't have mattered to me if it hadn't been for the promise I made with him," Fitoria explained.

"So, I guess you were around other places helping out, while we were taking care of the waves hitting Melromarc," Naofumi guessed, since he felt like she held a lot of experience and power, and would probably be more effective than the three stooges he knew.

"Yes, but I can't do all that by myself, I need the heroes to help me," Fitoria said, clearly a little tired over the current status quo.

"To be honest, you seem a lot more capable than any of us, you command all the filolials and you can turn into a giant Filolial queen, and you ooze with power, which I can barely comprehend myself," Naofumi shot in.

"That may be true for now, but eventually, I won't be enough," Fitoria said as her tower of rocks finally fell over due to her terrible stacking abilities, she didn't even build a proper foundation.

"So that is why you need the heroes to help you," Naofumi stated.

"Exactly," She confirmed.

"But what if I knew people that could replace the current heroes, people that are more capable, than them, do I really still need to get along with them then?" Naofumi questioned.

"If what you have told me about this evil deity is true, then you will need all the help you can get to defeat her, so yes, you will still have to get over these childish squabbles you and the other heroes have," Fitoria said, her tone serious.

"You might want me to make up with those three, but the whole country of Melromarc wants to get rid of me, they make me out to be the villain so that all the other heroes are convinced that I am the bad guy," Naofumi informed, he got in a bad mood just remembering all the stuff they said about him.

"Don't worry I'm aware of what's happening, regardless the heroes must stop fighting each other," Fitoria reiterated.

"You are kind of obsessing about that," Naofumi noted.

"Because it is completely unacceptable for you all to act like children," she sternly retaliated.

"Well, that is a lost cause, because they don't want to play nice with me either, and I don't need them anyway, I know other people that can take their place, so they can sit around thinking they are heroes while we go to the other countries," Naofumi said as he looked away from Fitoria.

"Are you certain?" She coldly asked him as she looked down.

"Yeah," He quickly retorted without any hesitation.

"I see, you've made up your mind then," Fitoria said as the wind started to blow harder around them making the trees shake.

"It's been a while, several lifetimes in fact, I can hardly remember anything, but I do still remember what this means I will have to do, if the heroes are busy fighting each other instead of focusing on the real threat at hand," the wind increased in strength around them as Naofumi could feel a dangerous aura emanating from her.

"Then you leave me no choice, I must kill all four of you!" Fitoria stated as she rose and stared at him with eyes filled to the brim with killing intent.

"{Break the first seal}!" Megumin chanted from behind the wall, the next moment a black panther with a 10m long wingspan crashed through the wall and stood between Naofumi and Fitoria, with Megumin emerging from the dust created by crashing through the wall.

"Choose your words more wisely before I fully release my familiar and make her tear you to shreds, for I cannot let such a threat go unnoticed," Megumin threatened her aura just as intimidating as Fitoria's.

Mana particles had become visible as they got sucked into either Megumin's staff or Fitoria's cowlicks.

"Who are you?" Fitoria asked, staring coldly and calculating at Megumin's glowing crimson eyes. Clearly surprised by the aura Megumin now showcased, she had thought the cat only spoke naïve and overconfident words, but it was clearly some merits behind them.

Megumin stretched out her hand, and in the blink of an eye Chomusuke was at Fitoria's side clawing down at her. Fitoria brought up her own magical claws and blocked the attack as she spun around and kicked Chomusuke down the valley. Chomusuke spun around mid-air and stretched out her wings and sailed back towards Fitoria at a blistering speed, that Naofumi couldn't even hope to keep track of.

Chomusuke sent a flurry of attacks at Fitoria, which she dodged with ease. Then Chomusuke flew upwards and took a dive towards Fitoria as she blew a circle of fire around Fitoria, with her paws outstretched she plunged into Fitoria with so much force that the whole overhang collapsed. Megumin effortlessly threw Naofumi to safety as she jumped after him.

"Sorry dear, but this is now my responsibility, please go back to the others and get back to the mansion, me and Chomusuke can take it from here," Megumin said with a calming smile as she gently patted Naofumi on the head.

"Ok," Naofumi nodded as he started to sprint back to the camp.

"Pathetic!" Fitoria spat an insult at Megumin as she held Chomusuke by the throat with only one hand, seemingly with ease.

"{Release second seal}" Megumin chanted without hesitation as the red cross on Chomusuke's head disappeared and a darkness started to erupt from Chomusuke swallowing everything in the nearby vicinity. Naofumi barely escaped the dark fog, that seemingly ate up everything it touched.

Suddenly a sonic boom could be heard as Fitoria escaped the fog, now in her giant filolial queen form. The fog seemed to move after her, like a swarm of hungry piranhas following a bloody prey through the river. Fitoria didn't run away from the incoming dark fog instead she flapped her giant wings and dispersed the fog to reveal a gigantic black beast, and Megumin comfortably sitting on its head.

The only light reflected from the fearsome duo was Megumin herself, with her prominent crimson eyes burning red. With Chomusuke the only things that gave of light was the giant golden eyes, with the diameter of 1,67 meters. The rest of her body was so dark that no light could escape from it, Fitoria was staring into an abyss and the abyss was staring right back at her, with the add on of Megumin.

"What did you say about my familiar, that she was "pathetic," we'll see which one of you is truly pathetic," Megumin menacingly stated, her voice magically enhanced.

After Megumin spoke those words, a bright blue fire erupted from Chomusuke's mouth, and prepared to shoot out like a missile. Fitoria sensed the intense heat from her position and immediately went on the offensive, and kicked Chomusuke's mouth shut. Quickly followed up by maybe a hundred more kicks at the giant beasts' head. But before any hits could even hit Chomusuke's head her wings blocked them. Chomusuke used the split second of Fitoria's kicks to shoot in her tail and made her entangle her own feet in it. When Chomusuke's wings started to take too much damage she spun around and slammed Fitoria into the ground, creating an earthquake.

Fitoria spun her wings around and cut through Chomusuke's tail with her sharp claws. The spin also created a giant gust of wind that forced the giant beast backwards, with Megumin holding onto her fur with some difficulty.

Instead of fighting against the force that pushed her away from her opponent, she decided to use it to drive herself higher into the sky as she regrew her tail.

After regaining control over her flight, Chomusuke fired off volley, after volley of blue fire at the filolial queen, which she hastily answered by throwing giant boulders into the sky, in an attempt to shoot down Chomusuke as well as blocking the blue firebolts raining down at her. Fitoria also effectively blocked Megumin and Chomusuke's view, of her position on the ground by doing this.

"If we can't see her, make sure she can't see us," Megumin ordered.

In an instant, Chomusuke's black fur grew rapidly, covering the night sky in darkness. Not a fan of being stuck in pitch black darkness, Fitoria kicked off the ground and shot through the darkness back into the moonlight.

"Such a cheap trick won't work on me, ah there you are," Fitoria noted seeing the lack of light in the night sky, flapping its wing while flying away from her. Creating a giant gust of wind behind her, Fitoria used it to shoot herself forward and sail after her opponent. When she got close enough, she created a whirlwind to make her flying opponent lose all control, as she drove her claws down and slashed straight through her opponent cutting it in two.

"You just fell for my trap {Explosion}" Megumin chanted revealing red circles both under and over Fitoria as a giant explosion engulfed her. The light from the explosion lit up the entire area. When the fiery explosion finally resided, it revealed a heavily damaged Fitoria now back in her human form.

"_F-forgive me, I couldn't keep the promise_" Fitoria muttered to herself as she let her tears flow down her face, before she passed out. Then gravity started to drag her down towards the ground. Normally such a fall wouldn't have any chance of killing her, but with her passed out and heavily damaged the fall would be sure to kill her.

As the unconscious Fitoria fell towards the ground Chomusuke grabbed onto her with a claw. Megumin lay passed out on top of Chomusuke's head.

(I told you didn't I, she could beat you in one blow, but she definitely held back, meaning she wanted you alive) Chomusuke thought as she sailed back to the camp.

**/Meanwhile in Melromarc**

A group of people are walking down a hallway with the sword hero himself in the lead. Unbeknownst to them they are being watched by the three heroes church, or to be more correct one of their representatives.

"Open it," Ren commanded, the mages on his sides quickly obliged and cast spell that revealed a secret entrance.

(Naofumi was actually onto something, Itsuki and Motoyasu were impossible to convince to come and double check his suspicions at all, but this really makes it look like the church is trying to hide something) Ren thought to himself, as he silently ordered for his party members to follow after him down into the secret library.

"Search the place for anything the church might have an interest in hiding!" Ren ordered, his party members answering with a quick bow before they started to execute the task given to them.

After about an hour of searching one of them found records of a divine weapon that could take on the form of every cardinal hero. It even showed coordinates to where the weapon had been stowed away.

"Come with me, we must leave at once!" Ren ordered as they quickly left the library and headed towards the spot marked on the map.

**/Meanwhile in Idol's prison cell**

"Do you have any allergies I should know about?" Masaharu questioned the sorry excuse of a man sitting on the tattered mattress.

"Why the hell would I tell you that, I am not stupid, you could just use that information to covertly kill me, since your puny justice system doesn't have the death penalty," The scum mocked as he crossed his arms, like he had some pride to protect.

"Do you think I would let you die so easily, if it were up to me I wouldn't even let them feed you, I bet you could live off the enormous amount of fat on your body for a month, maybe even two, so hurry up and tell me if you have any allergies," Masaharu explained as he brought his notebook back up.

"I don't have any, you bastard!" Idol snarled at Masaharu, he was clearly lying, and Masaharu couldn't really have that, so he just decided to give him something that he was most likely not allergic to.

"Good, in that case, you can eat this steamed potato," Masaharu said with a grin as he tossed Idol a hot potato, burning his fingers when he caught it.

"AH, IS THIS SOME SORT OF SICK JOKE, I CAN'T SURVIVE ON ONLY POTATOES!" Idol screamed in rage at Masaharu as he dunked his burned fingers into his glass of water.

"No, I am quite certain you should get all you need from 3 potatoes a day, I mean all you are going to do is sit down all day, so it's not like you are going to burn a lot of calories doing that," Masaharu informed him with a smirk as he left.

"DAMN YOU! I WILL GET OUT OF HERE SOON, AND WHEN I DO I WILL MAKE SURE EVERYONE PAYS FOR MY UNJUST TREATMENT HERE," Idol screamed into the now empty corridor.

"Hmm, you are an interesting one, not only do you give off so much dark emotions, but you also wake it in everyone you have been in contact with, Moi finds it very fascinating," Vanir said as he now stood in front of Idol, inside his own cell.

"Who are you?!" Idol exclaimed in shock at his new cellmate, as he instinctively backed away.

"Oh, thou wishes to know Moi's identity, I will happily oblige your request, Moi is the devilish archduke of hell, Vanir," Vanir introduced himself with a smirk.

"What do you want with me you devil!" Idol raged as he got to his feet.

"Well isn't obvious, Moi wishes to help thou escape from this prison," Vanir happily informed the fat man.

"Why would you do that?" He questioned, not believing anything Vanir said.

"Simple really, if thou escapes from this prison, the inhabitants of this country will rage with dark emotions that Moi can feed on, so setting you free of this prison cell is in Moi's best interest," Vanir quickly explained.

"But how do you intend to let me escape?" Idol queried now a little suspicious.

"Oh, thou asks such easy questions, with this portal of course," Vanir said as he gestured to a dark and purple portal swirling around in the room.

"What the hell is that!?" Idol frightfully asked, while jumping back to the wall.

"It is a gate to hell human, normally a sinful man wouldn't be able to walk in and out of hell, but thou is a man of god, right?" Vanir challenged.

"Yes, I am a man of God, without a doubt he has eternally blessed me," Idol confidently said, boasting with self-confidence at the question.

"If thou are truly a man of god then a quick trip through Hell won't pose a problem, trust Moi, Hell can never hold a person touched by a god, so if thou are confident that thou truly are touched by god, Hell won't be able to hold thee, and this will be your escape from this prison," Vanir explained, gesturing back to the portal.

"Yes, I am a man of God I would easily escape hell, lead the way devil and let us lay waste to this country as I take a simple trip through hell!" Idol confidently exclaimed as he willingly stepped into hell, Vanir quickly closing the portal behind him.

"So what do you think Vanir, fanatic or just a giant inflated ego?" Robin asked as she seemingly popped into existence.

"From what Moi can tell, it is a mixture of both, with this Moi has fulfilled your request, now please pay in full as we agreed upon," Vanir said, his serious expression now replaced with a sly grin.

"Oh please, does it look like I have 9 billion Eris just on me, the money has probably been dropped off at your shop by now," Robin cheekily shot in as she played with a few million Eris in her left hand, like it was pocket change.

"Moi trusts thou word, but why spend 9 billion on sending that man to hell, but not the other 100 equally despicable men you have encountered?" Vanir asked curiously.

"B-because, I could sense that he had hurt my brother or someone very close to him, and that is not something I let anyone get away with, especially not a man like that," Robin explained with knitted fists and gritted teeth.

"You remind me very much of the young brat, customer number 1," Vanir said before he walked away from her.

"Probably because, like my father, I am one of the only people keeping your business up and running," Robin said mostly to herself than to the empty hallway before she vanished.

**Meanwhile with Raphtalia, Filo and Melty**

"I know we just had an earthquake followed up by a giant explosion, which caused all of the filolials to panic, but I feel very relieved right now for some reason," Raphtalia shared with Melty and Filo standing on guard.

"How can you feel relieved when Megumin, Fitoria, and Naofumi is gone, which we found out after we got woken up by that massive earthquake," Melty questioned, clearly a little shaken by the whole situation.

"CALM DOWN!" Filo suddenly ordered, causing all the other filolials running around in a panic to abruptly stop, and look at Filo with wide-eyes. It was like they were waiting for more commands.

"Good job Filo," Naofumi complimented as he burst out from the trees.

"NAOFUMI!" All of the three girls cheered in unison as they laid their eyes on him.

"Are you hurt master?" Raphtalia asked as she quickly checked him over.

"No, I am fine, but are you three okay," Naofumi queried as he looked the girls over, and when he saw that they were all fine he took a deep breath, before he let out a sigh of relief.

"Do you know what caused all of this Naofumi?" Melty inquired.

"My mother and Chomusuke started a fight with Fitoria, and since it is so silent right now, I would assume that Fitoria either got hit by the explosion, or she killed them after the explosion missed her," Naofumi quickly explained.

"But why would they start a fight with Fitoria?" Raphtalia now inquired, any sense of relief now completely gone.

"Well, because Fitoria threatened to kill me, if I didn't make up with the other heroes," He quickly answered.

"Yeah, that will do it," Raphtalia said as she nodded her head understandingly.

"So we should go, {SHIELD PRISON}" Naofumi suddenly roared out a chant, as he saw a giant form of darkness block out the moonlight, covering both him and the girls.

"What is going on?" the girls asked in confusion, but they didn't exactly dislike being pressed up against Naofumi.

"_I saw something gigantic just now, it would be best if we try to stay as silent as possible,_" Naofumi quickly explained in a whisper, they quickly understood how dire the situation could be from how serious he was.

"**Tap tap, tap tap, tap tap,**" A sudden consistent tapping rhythm hit the shield prison, it was a gentle rhythm Naofumi instinctively knew he could trust, so he dispelled the shield prison and stared directly into a pair of giant yellow eyes.

All the girls looked at this black creature, but instead of freezing up like many others would do, they protectively went in front of Naofumi in battle stances. But the presence of this creature alone was enough to make their legs feel like jelly.

After having taken a good look at the group, the creature presented the beaten Fitoria on one of her claws, before she let her fall onto the ground in front of them. The girls stared wide-eyed at the beaten and battered Fitoria, and knew they didn't stand a chance against whatever this thing was. It then lowered its head and presented a sleeping Megumin laying on its head.

"Looks like mom won the battle, Melty you need to take care of Fitoria's wounds, while we take care of my mother, Chomusuke, you will have to stay a bit away from camp until we can get you back to a more manageable size," Naofumi listed off as the girls stared at him completely dumbfounded.

When Naofumi had lifted up his mother off Chomusuke's head she flapped her wings and flew away. The moment her presence was far enough away the filolials rushed over to Fitoria and started tending to her wounds, with Melty just staring at Naofumi alongside the other girls.

"T-that was Chomusuke?" they all questioned, clearly needing another confirmation for such an outrageous claim.

"_Yeah… and that is not even… her final form,_" Megumin sleepily answered, causing all the girls to pass out at the thought of there being an even more giant form of Chomusuke.

(What is going to happen when Fitoria wakes up?) Naofumi pondered to himself as he made sleeping arrangements for all of them, before he himself went to sleep. All the while a dark goddess of sloth and violence watched over them.

**Meanwhile in Reichnott's mansion**

"Ok, ok, she is fine, hopefully that means the others are fine," Kazuma said to himself as he nervously played with his ring that had been blinking red for a while.

"You need to get some sleep Kazuma, you have been stressing too much after they didn't return with the carriage, remember that you can be of better help to them if you are well rested," Iris argued in another attempt at getting him to sleep.

"Yeah, you are right, I should get some sleep, but what did the three from the carriage tell you?" Kazuma inquired as he sat down on the bed.

"They all told the same story about how the shield hero and his party saved them from Idol's underground torture chamber, but they didn't have any wounds or scars that could confirm their claims, of being whipped bloody, getting their limbs drawn, or being stuck to a wall for days," Iris summarized.

"Did you look them in the eyes?" Kazuma questioned.

"Yeah, and I could see that they had truly been through all that they told me, so Naofumi's party probably healed them," Iris suggested.

"No, both Melty and Naofumi have healing abilities, but neither can heal scars, someone else must have been at play, but who?" Kazuma inquired.

"Hmm, I think sleep would do you better than speculating, come on now, lay your head down," Iris calmly spoke as she gently pushed him down to the pillow.

"Ok," Kazuma finally said before he closed his eyes and finally went to sleep.

"_I should probably also get some sleep,_" Iris whispered to herself as she placed her head on Kazuma's chest and fell asleep while listening to his calming heartbeat.

The door to their room finally closed as Darkness stood by the now closed door, as tears started to trickle down her face, that she quickly wiped away.

"_I don't like this pain,_" She muttered to herself as she walked back to her own room.

**The next morning in Fitoria's camp**

"Ugh, my head hurts," Fitoria complained as she awoke, clutching her forehead with one hand.

"Meow," (Well of course it hurts, you got hit with one of my mistress' explosions, you should be happy you're still alive) Chomusuke mocked, now back in her cute and cuddly form.

"If I am still alive that means your mistress wasn't strong enough to take me down," Fitoria quickly retorted as she shot the black fur ball a death glare.

"MEOW, MEEEOW, MEOOOW!" (NO! You are only still alive because my mistress CHOSE to not kill you, she held back so much of her potential power. Just so you know birdbrain, holding back like that took way more of her focus and energy, than what letting out that little explosion that knocked you out did!) Chomusuke angrily informed her.

"And why would she keep me alive?" Fitoria challenged.

"Because you, just like me, fought for someone you loved, the determination and power you exerted while in my explosion should have made you give up hope, but you kept holding on even after you lost consciousness. At first I thought you were just desperately clinging onto life, but you wore the same expression someone that failed their loved ones would wear," Megumin butted in with her explanation/compliment, as she ate some reheated stew.

"So you love the shield hero, hmm," Fitoria thought as she looked Megumin up and down, then over at the sleeping Naofumi. She then took a whiff of Megumin's aura, and compared it to what she could remember from meeting privately with Naofumi last night.

(Similar auras, although hers is more mature, she is also definitively pregnant, I could smell that yesterday, and she loves the shield hero, this only leaves two possibilities, she is either his mother or lover, but no heroes have ever been summoned with their parent before, meaning)

"Meow," (Let me stop you right there birdbrain, she is his mother, and she is pregnant with Naofumi's next siblings) Chomusuke interrupted Fitoria's train of thought, to avoid Megumin throwing up her breakfast.

"Actually, that makes a lot more sense," Fitoria said as she looked at Megumin, the fact that she was his mother filled her with relief.

"Mother of the shield hero, you have bested me in combat and spared my life, of which I am grateful, as this allows me to keep my promise, but my original purpose of gathering you all here was to see if Filo is fit to be my successor, I would still like to test her," Fitoria went on as she bowed to Megumin.

"I will allow you to test her, but you will not harm her or anyone else, beyond your ability to heal them, as for incentive you could take me and my familiar hostage, under the pretense that we have been put under a deep sleep spell, those are my conditions," Megumin lay forth.

"I humbly accept these conditions, then after I have finished healing up I will commence Filo's test," Fitoria promised as she went into what seemed like a trance, making her glow slightly as blisters and burns started to fade.

"Good, I will go and wake the others so they too can eat breakfast, cast a spell on me when you are ready to start Filo's test, come now Chomusuke," Megumin said as she crouched down and let the cat climb up on her arm, before she finally sat down between her mistress' boobs.

"HEY WAKE UP! BREAKFAST IS SERVED!" Megumin happily shouted, as she walked over them.

"Breakfast, where?" Filo shot up as she quickly gazed around the place, to see a giant pot on top of the fire, with some stew from yesterday currently reheating.

"Save some for the rest of us, ok?" Megumin said as she motherly ruffled Filo's blonde hair.

"Sure grandma!" Filo said in a hurry as she rushed over to the pot with a bowl in hand.

"What about Fitoria, has she figured out why you protected me last night?" Naofumi questioned, with a far too serious and grave expression for Megumin's liking.

"Yes, because a certain familiar told her," Megumin said as she sent Chomusuke a judging stare.

"Meow, meow… meow," (Sorry, I just trying to save your lunch you know, since you are… eating for three and all) Chomusuke excused, but of course no one understood her.

"How do you know Chomusuke told her?" Raphtalia asked a little confused.

"Fitoria kind of gave it away, by responding to her like she talks normally,"" Megumin quickly retorted.

"Ironically it was the cat that ratted us out, I guess she knows what kind of deck we are playing with, regardless, hopefully she will back off now that you bested her in combat," Naofumi noted as he rose.

"Come now, you all got to eat breakfast," Megumin joyfully declared as she ate the rest of her bowl, quickly returning to the pot for a refill.

**Back in Reichnott's mansion**

"Come now we got to hurry loading the carriage," Kazuma ordered as he mushed the others along.

"What do you plan to do with those 4 filolials, Mr. Essler?" Reichnott asked as he stood beside Kazuma.

"I was thinking to let them go free of course, I have no use for them now, they would probably like to go back home themselves anyway, so we aren't going to keep them here, DARKNESS CUT THEM FREE!" Kazuma ordered, which she promptly tried, but she missed, she tried again, but she of course missed again.

"Ok enough of this, {Snipe}" Kazuma chanted making an arrow fly right through the ropes, letting the filolials loose. The moment the roped loosened around them, they literally left dust clouds behind them.

"Was that on purpose?" Reichnott pondered out loud, not believing someone could miss a rope right in front of them, twice! "But she did look like she struggled," He argued.

Kazuma looked back at the Lord, then back to Darkness, letting out a sigh as he patted his ally on the shoulder, "I won't say if it was, or not," Kazuma said with an apologetic smile.

"Hmm, ok, farewell for now then, I hope you return with everyone in good health," Reichnott said as Kazuma went down to the carriage, where Iris and Darkness was waiting.

"All our necessities are loaded onto the carriage, and we are ready to go, but how are we going to transport this carriage now?" Iris queried.

"Isn't it obvious, you and Darkness are going to pull," Kazuma quickly retorted.

"Darkness, as your superior I order you to drag this carriage by yourself, while I lay back on the carriage with Kazuma," Iris ordered, faster than you can go bankrupt in Elroad.

"No Iris, I need both of you too pull so we can get to the others as quickly as possible," Kazuma informed.

"But we can't follow the filolials, they didn't exactly leave any visible footprints behind, and they also ran off in their own respective direction," Darkness challenged.

"That would be true if it hadn't been for me tagging each filolial with my {Tracking} skill, it will start working the moment they start eating/drinking, that should give us an exact position to travel towards," Kazuma explained.

"Why do you have that skill, we never really went hunting for monsters as I can remember?" Darkness asked, her curiosity clearly piqued.

"True, but it also works on objects, so if someone stole my money pouch I would easily be able to hunt it down, for the last 20 years I have just used it to keep track of my luggage when I go on flights," Kazuma told the two of them.

"Wait, you can fly too!?" They both erupted in unison, clearly shocked at this information.

"No, we have machines in Japan that can fly, don't ask me how they work, can we just focus on finding the others first," Kazuma shifted the conversation, stopping them from asking anymore questions.

"Yeah, but you have to tell us about these flying machines later," Iris demanded.

"Sounds fair to me," He agreed as he jumped back in the carriage to double check if everything was in stock.

**Back in Fitoria's camp**

"So, has everyone eaten?" Megumin asked as she looked over the empty bowls, before she spotted Fitoria walking over to the table, before she stood still opposite of her.

"{Liberation: Wind Prison}" Fitoria chanted as she stretched out an arm towards Megumin, causing a strong wind to blow the table away as a blue light blinded everyone else. When the light finally resided they could see Megumin trapped in a cocoon of wind, seemingly unconscious.

"Mom!" Naofumi yelled trying to wake her up, but she didn't even react.

"What is going on!?" Melty said in confusion as she backed away over to Naofumi.

"What are you doing to grandma, LET HER GO!" Filo demanded, still with some breadcrumbs around her cheeks.

"As you can all see, I have taken Megumin hostage," Fitoria coldly stated.

"Hostage? What is the meaning of this?" Naofumi demanded as he stared Fitoria down.

"Shield hero, promise me, promise me that you'll make up with the other heroes," Fitoria demanded.

"You are making demands, but if you hurt my mother you will surely wake her, and then she will just defeat you with Chomusuke like last time," Naofumi challenged, he really had no idea what spell Fitoria really casted on his mother, but she wasn't a deep sleeper.

"Wrong, your mother is currently under a very strong sleep spell, not even an explosion like yesterday would be enough to wake her, see even this garners no reaction from her," Fitoria explained as she flicked her hand, causing the wind prison to shrink and give Megumin a dozen tiny cuts, but she didn't even as much as flinch.

"So if I don't do as you say, you are going to kill my mother, I thought I told you it isn't happening!" Naofumi stated as he stood his ground.

"Even so, I must ask you to," Fitoria reiterated as she met Naofumi's equally cold stare.

"Why are you so obsessed with the heroes working together?" Naofumi inquired.

"Because I made a promise to the hero who raised me, and because heroes MUST cooperate, in order to save the world and its people from the waves of catastrophe, please," Fitoria said, being the first to break the glare with Naofumi.

"It doesn't matter how many times you ask, I have no intention of reconciling with those idiots," Naofumi stubbornly reiterated.

Fitoria looked over at the floating unconscious Megumin, and then back at Naofumi. She actually bit down on her own tongue as to not repeat her mistake from yesterday, of threatening Naofumi's life.

(He is so damn stubborn) Fitoria thought as she knitted her fists in frustration.

"If you don't want to reconcile with the other heroes, then prove to me that you and your party can deal with the waves singlehandedly, and I will gladly release you mother," Fitoria put forth.

"Prove to you?" Raphtalia said nervously, fearing the worst.

"How do we do that? By fighting you right here and now?" Naofumi questioned.

"I have more or less already deduced your strength, and know how strong you are, no, I want a one-on-one with Filo," Fitoria demanded as she pointed at Filo.

"Me?" She asked in bewilderment.

"If you prove to me that you are strong, I will release Megumin, and let you be, for now," Fitoria stated.

"I don't really understand, but if I win, you will release grandma, and leave us alone, right?" Filo asked for confirmation.

"Filo, wait a-"

"Then I'll fight you!" Filo cut Naofumi off as she confidently stepped forward.

"I will be fighting you in my human form, I ask that you do the same," Fitoria requested.

"Gotcha," Filo retorted as she equipped her gloves.

"I said wait!" Naofumi yelled in attempt to get their attention, but he was completely ignored.

"This way," Fitoria said as she gestured to a vacant area, the moment Filo had moved to a spot opposite of her, a pink barrier encapsulated both of them.

"Here I come," Filo confidently stated as she balled her fists.

"Whenever you're ready," Fitoria retorted, her tone and face void of any emotion.

Filo crouched down and put her fists into the ground, so when she kicked off from the ground her figure was obscured by the dust cloud. She then did a war cry as she went sailing down with her foot, Fitoria easily dodged her as she hit the ground, barely needing to move a step.

"You're too slow and predictable," Fitoria remarked as she grabbed ahold of her foot and flung her into the air with minimal effort.

Filo caught herself in the air and looked down on the ground where she had hit the ground, but she saw no Fitoria. She stared at the spot where Fitoria had just been completely confused for a second.

"FILO! ABOVE YOU!" Raphtalia yelled, but it was already too late because Fitoria chopped her in the neck before she even had a chance to react, sending her crashing into the ground.

"FILO!" Melty nervously yelled to see if her friend was fine. In response Filo now on her knees looked up at Fitoria with angry blue eyes as she rose.

(Something doesn't add up here, I find it hard to believe that Fitoria has a strong enough sleep spell to completely but mom and Chomusuke out of commission, if she had one why didn't she use it yesterday to beat them. Then there is the fact that Fitoria requested a fight with Filo in human form only,) Naofumi frantically thought as he looked a Filo charging towards Fitoria.

"Don't just charge in blindly! Use your head!" Naofumi ordered.

"Master…" Filo muttered between pants as she took a second to actually assess her opponent.

"And regenerate you clothes by pouring mana into them, try to bolster your defense as much as you can," Naofumi continued.

"Gotcha!" Filo reaffirmed as she nodded to his orders.

Filo raised her hand and started to chant finally ending with {Zweit Tornado}. This caused a massive sideways tornado to shoot out of her hands towards Fitoria.

In response Fitoria with an unimpressed look on her face, raised her hand and chanted, "Nullify the vacuum burst, {Anti-Zweit Tornado}," this dispelled Filo's spell in an instant, kicking up a giant dust cloud.

(You need a deep understanding about the spell being cast to have even a chance to dispel it, and Fitoria did this without even flinching) Naofumi thought to himself.

"Watch out! She is using jamming magic!" Melty hastily informed Filo.

But before Filo was able to even move Fitoria had shot through the dust cloud.

"You're wide open," Fitoria stated, before she cast another spell that shot Filo into a wall, causing it to crack.

(_As stated earlier I am here to talk to Filo, to see if she can become the next Filolial queen,_ That is what she said yesterday, which means this is a test, that would explain why she only wants to fight Filo in their human form, because it is the only somewhat comparable form they can fight in, so mom is in on this, meaning she is in no real danger, but she will still have to pass,) Naofumi realized as he looked back to the fight.

"What do you fight for?" Fitoria questioned.

"Isn't that obvious? For Master!" Filo answered as she mustered more strength and ran towards Fitoria with a raised fist, Fitoria simply sidestepped her as Filo's haymaker missed and the momentum dragged her to ground.

"You can't beat me, I have a hard time believing you could even beat a dragon, and you expect to be useful to the Shield hero when you are this weak?" Fitoria threw a demeaning question at Filo, in an attempt to discourage her.

"I'm not gonna lose to you, I will just have to become stronger, FOR MASTER!" Filo roared as she lifted herself off the ground and sprinted towards Fitoria.

"Not with willpower as shallow as yours!" Fitoria reprimanded as she smacked Filo to the ground. She then cast another spell at Filo pushing her further into the ground.

"Oh no, Filo!" Raphtalia and Melty said in worried unison as they stared at the onslaught.

"I will… I will get stronger, I WILL GET MUCH STRONGER, FOR MASTER!" Filo shouted, clearly weakened by Fitoria's onslaught of attacks.

"Really?" Fitoria said with clear doubt in her voice, as she took a deep breath and started to absorb mana particles from the atmosphere.

"Wait, she can also absorb mana particles from the air, how is that even possible without a magical item?" Melty said in disbelief.

"FILO!" Naofumi yelled to catch her attention, which he succeeded in.

"Master…" Filo weakly muttered to herself as she looked back at Naofumi.

"Calm down, and watch her attacks closely, **I know that you can do this!**" Naofumi yelled to reassure Filo, but it also seemed to stagger Fitoria for a moment.

"Yeah!" Filo confirmed, a little revitalized by his encouraging words, as she summoned a green barrier around her.

"Too slow," Fitoria noted.

"Okay, but I'll still beat YOU!" Filo roared with newfound power as she launched herself into the air and dove towards Fitoria. "{Spiral Strike}!" Filo chanted as her gloves dissolved and magic claws now covered her hands, crashing into the barrier Fitoria had created.

"AHHHH!" Filo angrily screamed as she tried to push through the barrier with all of her remaining strength, surprisingly a crack appeared on the barrier, causing Fitoria to lose concentration, giving Filo the opportunity to burst through it and slightly scratch Fitoria's cheek, as she sailed passed her and violently crashed into the ground.

"Incredible, can you believe she just did that?" Raphtalia said astounded.

"She did it!" Naofumi proudly stated.

"Amazing Filo!" Melty cheered.

"I… won't lose," Filo weakly said as she crouched on the ground, forcing herself to get back up.

"I'll just, "pant," grow stronger, "pant," so that I can beat you… so that I can protect everyone I care about," Filo weakly stated as she stumbled towards Fitoria, and threw a punch with no strength at her.

"Good," Fitoria gently said, watching on as Filo fell to the ground, her legs no longer having the strength to carry her, still defiantly staring at the hem of Fitoria's dress, as she tried to muster more strength.

"I… won't lose, ever again," Filo stubbornly repeated.

"That's enough Filo, I believe you have beaten me," Fitoria proudly stated as the pink barrier faded away, together with the air cocoon around Megumin, but instead of falling to the ground like a limp sack of potatoes, she did a front-flip and elegantly landed on her feet.

"_Fucking knew she was faking it,_" Naofumi muttered to himself, as Melty began to run towards Filo.

"It would seem you're strong enough after all," Fitoria complimented Filo, clearly happy with the results.

"Oh Filo!" Melty said as she stood over Filo, before she dove in for a hug.

"Mel I did it, ah, did you see that Master, I won, did you see?" Filo said with a weak voice, yet proud tone.

"Sure did, you were amazing Filo," Naofumi proudly complimented.

"Now heal her as we agreed," Megumin shot in.

"Very well," Fitoria confirmed as she started to cast healing magic on Filo.

"Wait, you two made a deal for this to happen?" Melty said in confusion.

"Yes, but not to worry, I wouldn't let her hurt you beyond anything she could heal," Megumin reassured them as she stroked her hands through Filo's hair.

"I must come clean, mother of the Shield Hero, if Filo hadn't passed the test, she would have died, together with the Shield Hero, I am sorry for my dishonesty, but the promise towards my hero trumps anything else, but now that Filo has passed my trial, I will let you be, at least for now," Fitoria revealed, causing everyone to look at her in shock.

"If you had even tried that, I would have killed you in an instant," Megumin said threateningly.

"Yes, but I am certain I could have killed the shield hero first, and then the next wave would kill off the other heroes, allowing more to be summoned, but let us not think about that dire scenario, now that Filo succeeded," Fitoria said as she made a silver tiara, decorated with many beautiful magic stones appear in her outstretched right hand.

"Oh, what's that?" Filo curiously asked, clearly fascinated by the glittering object.

"Your reward, to honor you for overcoming my trial, now please lower your head," Fitoria requested, with Filo quickly fulfilling it, as Fitoria gently placed it on top of her head. The filolials started to come out of the trees as they raised their heads and seemingly cheered.

"Filo, I hereby appoint you my successor," Fitoria declared as she took a step back.

"Successor?" Filo said in confusion as she tilted her head to the side.

"It means you will become the next filolial queen when Fitoria either abdicates or dies," Megumin quickly summarized as she inspected the tiara closer, she was about to touch it and pick it up, but then it suddenly vanished, and a cowlick appeared in its place.

"Huh," Filo and Megumin uttered out in unison, but while Filo and the others kept staring at Filo, Megumin looked over at Fitoria and saw that she had three similar cowlicks.

"Heh, the sign of filolial royalty is a cowlick," Megumin teased as she patted Filo on her head.

"Cute!" Melty exclaimed.

"No, it is weird, get it off!" Filo protested as she grabbed the cowlick and ripped it off, but another one quickly grew in its place.

"It grew back," Melty happily observed, but Filo clearly didn't feel the same way about it.

"And it'll keep growing back, so get used to it, and you'll gain more of them as you grow more powerful," Fitoria explained.

"Am I gonna look like you?" Filo queried, her pouting face clearly not satisfied with the thought of that.

(Look at that, her stats increased, with her level-capped this couldn't have happened at a better time) Naofumi thought as he inspected the cowlick.

"I also have something for you, Shield Hero," Fitoria said as she turned to face him.

"Thanks, but I don't want a cowlick," He quickly retorted.

"Just show me your shield," She requested, surprisingly he quickly did so, as she ripped out one of her cowlicks and dropped it in the shield's green gem, where it was absorbed.

**Unlocked: Shields were force unlocked**

"She unlocked the whole filolial series, but I can't use any of them yet because my level isn't high enough, well in that case I just have to meet the requirements," Naofumi muttered to himself.

"Thanks Fitoria," He said earnestly.

"You're welcome, but I still have something I wish to discuss with you in private," Fitoria retorted.

"Hmm, so there's more," Naofumi noted.

"For now that can wait, now we celebrate that a successor has been proven worthy," Fitoria declared with a smile as she clapped her hands together making all the filolials run into the forest to gather ingredients and materials.

**Meanwhile in Reichnott's camp**

"So how long is this going to take Kazuma?" Iris asked, clearly she had gotten impatient by just sitting around and doing nothing of value.

"I said the skill activates as soon as they eat or drink, if I get 4 signals from the same area, we know with certainty that they returned back to their home," Kazuma reiterated.

"This might take some more time so I am just gonna go brew some t-"

"I GOT IT, GIRLS I WILL GIVE YOU THE DIRECTIONS, NOW PULL THE CARRIAGE WITH ALL THAT YOU GOT!" Kazuma cut off Darkness as he started barking orders.

After a few hours of dragging the carriage, they were met with a wall of trees in their way.

"What now?" Darkness and Iris queried in unison.

"Hmm, I could use {Feather weight} on the carriage, while Iris cuts down all the trees in our way, but {Feather weight} only last for 2 minutes with this much weight, and I don't know how far into this forest we would have to travel," Kazuma relayed.

"If we give it our all we could reach at least halfway into the forest," Darkness stated confidently.

"But we are leaving a very obvious trail behind us that is easy to follow, and if someone kidnapped the whole group, they must be rather powerful so barging through the forest would quickly alert them to our presence, and then they would probably move positions, or prepare an ambush," Kazuma explained.

"Couldn't you just cast {Lurk} and sneak us towards their position as we camouflage the carriage with magic and vegetation," Iris suggested.

"I guess we could do that, but that means leaving a lot of equipment behind, and if both Naofumi and Melty are down for the count, we can't immediately heal any serious damage that they could have sustained," Kazuma countered.

"We have to take a gamble regardless, either we go in with all our power on display risking alerting our foe, or we sneak in, leaving much of our equipment unattended, as well as giving them time to move before we get to them," Iris summarized.

"My gut is saying we should sneak, so you guys have to both hold onto me when we go in," Kazuma was barely able to finish as Iris and Darkness and pressed tightly onto him.

"Darkness, you don't need to cling on to him that much, the {Lurk} skill will work as long as you are just barely touching each other," Iris complained.

"I mean, this is just to ensure I have a good grip on him," Darkness countered.

"Stop bickering, our first priority is to camouflage the carriage," Kazuma interrupted their bickering.

By nightfall the carriage had been properly camouflaged and they had started to travel into the forest. After a few hours of traveling in the forest, with Kazuma occasionally recharging on stamina by using {Drain touch} on Darkness, they finally reached a fireplace, with a bunch of filolials sleeping right next to it.

Using {Farsight} Kazuma took a closer look and saw Filo, Melty, Megumin, and Raphtalia sleeping with them, they seemed relaxed and happy. However Kazuma didn't lower his guard.

"_What do you see?_" Iris whispered to him.

"_Everyone except Naofumi, stay here and watch over them, I will see if I can find Naofumi,_" Kazuma whispered in response as he went further into the camp, where he spotted footprints leading away from the camp.

"That will slow down the Curse Shield's corrosion, but it won't completely stop it, so try to avoid using it as much as you can," A little girl said as she sat next to Naofumi on a staircase.

"After all that talk about killing me, I guess **you're** just a **really nice person**, Fitoria," Naofumi retorted, making Fitoria eyes go wide.

"Well, given you're doing all of this for me, I guess I'll give it my best shot, but don't get your hopes up," Naofumi said as Fitoria rested her head onto his left leg.

"Ehm, Could you get off?" Naofumi asked a little startled by her sudden show of affection.

"Please, Shield Hero, just a little longer," Fitoria pleaded.

"The hero that raised you, was it the former Shield Hero?" Naofumi questioned.

"I don't remember, us filolials don't have a very good memory," She retorted.

Naofumi started to gently stroke his hand through her silver hair, in an attempt to comfort her.

Kazuma let out a sigh of relief as he deactivated his skill and calmly walked towards them, making Naofumi twist his head around, at the sound of footsteps.

"Yeah, now you notice me, if I had been an enemy you would have already been dead, here you have me worrying for nothing, at least write a note with the carriage you send back," Kazuma openly complained as Fitoria shot her head up from Naofumi's lap and stared daggers at him, immediately activating Kazuma's {Enemy detection}.

"Who are you!?" Fitoria snarled at him.

"Naofumi, do you want to say who I am, or should I?" Kazuma asked.

"That is my dad, so don't kill him Fitoria," Naofumi said, and Kazuma took off his mask in response. Just then the wind shifted and blew towards Fitoria and Naofumi.

Fitoria tilted her head to the side as she looked at Kazuma with the widest eyes Kazuma had ever witnessed, before either Kazuma or Naofumi could react Fitoria had slammed Kazuma into the ground as she hugged him tightly. This embrace/attack knocked the air out of Kazuma's lungs as he laid on the ground with Fitoria on top of him, doing his best to regain normal breathing.

"You're back, I thought I would never see you again!" Fitoria cried out as she hugged him tightly, tears starting to stain his shirt.

"_Do we know each other?_" Kazuma barely managed to ask, with the little air that he was able to control.

"Of course, you're my hero, you raised me, I can't be mistaken, even though it is faint, I can still smell my mark on you," Fitoria explained as she rubbed up against him, with blatant show of affection.

"_Are you sure, there isn't any way for you to be mistaken?_" Kazuma weakly questioned.

"I can't be mistaken about this, you have the smell mark, only a filolial king/queen can bestow such a distinct smell mark onto someone, and they can only do it once to the person they care for the most, and since I am the only Filolial Queen for the last centuries, only I could have given you that," Fitoria explained.

(Filolials are giant birds, with Filo and the one currently clinging onto me being filolial royalty, wait, could that stupid chicken Aqua owned back then be this whole race's forefather, of all things that Aqua getting scammed, actually ended up being useful to me, wonder if she still believes they are dragons though?) Kazuma hypothesized.

"Sure, Fitoria, I am back, now… could you please release me?" Kazuma questioned, making sure to choose his words carefully.

"Of course," Fitoria quickly said as she helped Kazuma back on his feet, but she didn't let go of his left arm.

Kazuma met the gaze of Naofumi, they both shot each other the same expression of utter confusion as they walked back to camp.

(If you are confused, why did you say you to knew her?!) Naofumi thought to himself, as he followed behind them.

"I kept my promise, are you proud of me?" Fitoria urged him to answer, her tone very similar to Filo's, her grown up façade now completely gone.

"Yes, yes, I am very proud of you," He quickly retorted as he gave her some gentle head pats, causing Fitoria to giggle uncontrollably from excitement.

Kazuma leaned closer to Naofumi, "_What exactly was that promise?_" He covertly asked Naofumi.

"_Let me see, First, protect the world and its people from the waves of catastrophe, which includes preventing all legendary heroes from bickering with each other, and if they don't stop bickering, she should kill all of them, as to allow for another batch to be summoned,_" Naofumi answered, with Fitoria being too caught up in holding onto Kazuma to notice, their conversation.

"DID YOU THREATEN TO KILL MY SON!?" Kazuma suddenly erupted, making Fitoria stare back at him with fear in her eyes.

"I-I didn't know he was your son, and I was just keeping my promise with the information I had at the time," Fitoria meekly said in her defense.

"Yes, that is true, so don't be afraid, you did an excellent job, but our main priority right now is to keep all the heroes alive, then we can try stop the "goddess," causing these waves of catastrophe," Kazuma summarized.

"Master, Naofumi made a promise to me that he would try to reconcile with the other heroes, and clear his name, I still believe he should at the very least try this, as they could prove helpful down the line, against this main source of evil," Fitoria put forth with an endearing and sweet tone.

"Yes, we do need to clear you name son, but then we need to reveal the three heroes church's corruption, as well as that bitch's conspiracy to kill Melty, the questions remains with how we get the truth out of them," Kazuma said.

"Yeah, I highly doubt they will just come forth and reveal themselves like a generic villain," Naofumi stated.

"Heh, would be kind of fun if they did though," Kazuma noted with a chuckle.

"Then mom could just easily throw an explosion at them and we would be done," Naofumi chuckled back.

"NO, so absolutely not, she is pregnant, wait, has she been throwing explosions while pregnant?!" Kazuma's tone went completely serious as he stared his son down.

"She casted one last night Master, but she held back a lot of power, or else I would have died," Fitoria quickly informed.

"She casted explosion magic, of course she did, I don't even know what consequences that can have on the fetus, how can she be so reckless," Kazuma ranted to himself, clearly frustrated at Megumin's antics.

After some time they returned back to camp, Kazuma waved Darkness and Iris out of the bushes and told them it was safe. Iris and Darkness gave Fitoria the stink eye, when they saw how much she clung onto Kazuma, but they went to sleep on top of the sea of filolials, quickly followed by Naofumi.

"_Could you do me a favor?_" Kazuma whispered to Fitoria, as to not disturb anyone's sleep.

"_Of course, anything for you master,_" Fitoria immediately replied.

"_I left my carriage on the outskirts of this forest, could you help me bring it her in one piece before the others wake up?_" He requested.

"_Give me directions, and I will get it here without any of your equipment getting compromised,_" She promised.

Kazuma gave her a gentle smile in response as he proceeded to give her the directions. When the carriage had been transported into the camp, Kazuma also went to sleep, laying in-between Megumin and Iris, with Fitoria laying herself on top of him.

(How am I going to explain this tomorrow?) Kazuma asked himself as he fell into a deep slumber.

**That signifies the end of that chapter. Oh look at that it is October, OH I haven't updated in a while, well that is my bad. I hope you can forgive my writers block. On the other hand, next chapter is going to be filled with a lot of fun. Hopefully I will even get it out before the end of this month. I'll promise to never abandon this story, chapters just need some more time to get properly finished at times.**


	13. Dust

Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 13: Dust

**Morning arrived with our heroes sleeping soundly, on the other hand, the three heroes church gathered all its highly ranked members in its secret library. Everything was silent before the storm, except for in Belzberg. The news of the child torturer's escape made the whole populace go on high alert than they even did while at war with the demon king. As per their agreement, Robin wasn't allowed to reveal the truth, as Vanir happily fed on the raging anger spreading throughout the kingdom. He had aimed for shame, with the little stunt, but anger was acceptable. **

(Moi will let Robin reveal the truth or let her come up with a suitable lie if this anger turns into despair) Vanir thought to himself as he sat in the guildhall, happily feasting on the anger.

The only person that wasn't angry was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and a patchy beard. He wasn't angry, because last night, this man in a red jacket, started a drinking contest with the succubus Lolisa, which he lost by a mile.

As all the adventurers vacated the guild Vanir walked over to the sleeping drunk man, picked him up, and carried him back to the shop.

"What have you done to him?" Wiz asked in shock as she saw Vanir walk in with a drunken man.

"Moi picked up this drunk delinquent and carried him here so that you can use one of your anti-hungover potions so that Moi can revel in the shame that is sure to re-manifest once he is awake," Vanir explained.

"But do you have a hand in getting him drunk?" Wiz interrogated, quite well known with how her friend could operate.

"As a matter of fact Moi does have a hand in his current state, and it is necessary that he is sober by the next 10 minutes, or Moi won't be able to revel in the tons of shame that he will produce," He continued, as he put the man down in a chair, next to the tea-table.

"Hmm, I feel you are up to a scheme, but he looks so pathetic so I might as well help him sober up," Wiz reluctantly agreed as she got an anti-hangover potion, and tilted the man's head back, and poured it down his throat.

On the label, it said: **Created by Demon kingslayer, Kazuma Satou, and patented by Vanir**. In reality, the potion was actually made solely by Vanir but saying that Kazuma made it was great marketing.

"Cough, cough, What is going on, oh sir Vanir, did I win against Lolisa?" He asked in a hopeful

tone.

"No, you lost, which means you are barred from the succubus café for the next month," Vanir happily informed.

"NO!" He roared in anguish as he slammed his hands down on the table, in frustration.

"Ah, disappointment, what a wonderful dark emotion, bested only by shame," Vanir commented as if he was eating a delicious piece of cake.

"I am sorry to ask this of you, but could you please vacate the tea table, I have guests coming over soon," Wiz timidly requested.

"I am a little hungry, wouldn't it be okay for me to stick around for just a little food?" The man prodded.

"I don't think that would be wise," Wiz said, as she tried to gesture for the man to leave.

"Nonsense, I am actually on good terms with everyone in Axel," He countered, as someone came in the door.

"WHAT IS DUST DOING HERE!" An angry female voice erupted as she saw who sat in the chair.

"Hey, Yunyun… you look great… uhm… how long has it been?" Dust asked as he tried to make himself one with the chair he was sitting in.

"Oh! Let me see, ONLY A YEAR! YOU BETTER PAY FOR MEIMEI'S CHILD SUPPORT!" Yunyun went on a tirade, as her crimson eyes basically shone two cones of furious red light on the now very frightened man called Dust.

"T-there is a very, a-and I mean a very good reason for that, you see," Dust was interrupted as a white haired young girl, with a black haired girl burst into the shop, quickly followed by a brown-haired tanuki woman. These people were in order, Faitfore, Meimei, and Lynn.

"FOUND YOU!" Lynn declared menacingly, as she pointed a threatening finger at Dust, that was in the process of trying to becoming one with his chair, it didn't work.

"Found you, Master," Faitfore happily stated as she went in for a hug, this made the two women that were staring daggers at him switch over to mild glares.

"I order you to release your hold on my father and move away from him Faitfore," Meimei tried to order in a theatric fashion, but Faitfore clearly didn't want to play along, since she just kept embracing Dust.

"HEY, you are supposed to listen to me!" Meimei complained, as she tried to pry Faitfore off Dust, she didn't succeed, because Faitfore is actually a white dragon, and even though she is currently in her human form, she still has most of her strength.

"I only need to listen to you when Master isn't around," Faitfore informed, much to Meimei's dismay.

"Unfair I also want to sit on-" Meimei was interrupted as Dust hoisted Meimei onto his lap, and lovingly ruffled her jet black hair.

"_Truce, while they are here?_" Dust mouthed to Lynn and Yunyun as he pointed to his newly acquired shields.

"_Only because they are here,_" Yunyun answered as she did her best to stifle her anger.

Lynn on the other hand walked up to Dust and threw a bag of cookies to each girl, and as they were distracted by the treat, she slapped him so hard she left a red handprint on his cheek. "You didn't go on guard duty yesterday night, and now that monster escaped," Lynn reprimanded.

"Wait! He escaped?!"

"Yes! The guy you were supposed to guard escaped last night, because you were out drinking," Lynn said, with clear disappointment in her voice.

"B-but, someone told me that it was an early guard change, with proper papers and everything," He defended.

"Ugh, and you were too lazy to double check with the command, honestly why do I even expect anything from you at this point, you are going to be arrested and interrogated when they find you, you know that right," Lynn said, now wearing a completely apathetic expression.

"I-I am s-sorry,"

"Don't give me that shameful expression, when your words end up meaning nothing in the end, do something that actually can make me believe you have changed, I want to see action Dust, not words," Lynn said as she stared down at him.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Moi has a proposal if you would like to hear it?" Vanir shot in as he stepped in front of the shameful Dust.

"Couldn't hurt to at least hear you out sir," Dust solemnly responded.

"If thou wishes to return to the kingdom with the escapee in chains, thou must first help me come in contact and befriend a new potential customer currently in another country, the way there is treacherous, and thou will have to bring a spear, but thou should have the required equipment to make it through unharmed," Vanir proposed.

(Hmm, I think just getting away from Belzberg at the moment is enough to make me say yes, but it is sir, and he always has a trick up his sleeve, and this will most certainly not be free) Dust thought to himself.

"How much is this going to cost?" Dust decided to ask.

"Only 10 strands of your familiar's hair," Vanir responded as he pointed to Faitfore still munching down on cookies, while Meimei laid the on the floor, completely passed out.

"And when will we be back in Axel?" He asked nervously.

"By the end of the day," Vanir answered.

"Ok, I will come with you, if it means I can recapture him," Dust answered as he rose from his chair.

"Are we going on an adventure Master?" Faitfore asked clearly intrigued.

"No, I am goi-"

"Yes, you wandering fortune, you must travel with your master to keep him safe," Vanir shot in, as he brought out three giant bags filled to the brim with food, and a decent spear.

"Ok then, seems like we are going on an adventure after all Faitfore, you will have to carry the bags though," Dust shot in, and she didn't complain as she comically strapped all the bags to her back, carrying them with ease.

"Now listen closely, hold each other's hands, and don't let go of each other no matter what, or else Moi's business plans will vanish quicker than the money I leave in Wiz's care," Vanir said seriously as he opened up a portal.

"M-master, don't go into that portal," Faitfore immediately responded as she did her best to hold him back.

"Sir, where does this portal lead?" Dust scrutinized, after seeing her fearful reaction to it.

"It leads to a middle ground that we need to navigate to reach Moi's new potential customer, do not fret, as long as thou are with Moi and thou hang on to each other, no harm will befall you, that is a promise from Moi," Vanir reassured them.

"Hmm, Sir might be a Devil with schemes of his own, but he promised that we would be safe so let's go Faitfore," Dust said as he patted her on the head.

"Mm, NO! And there is nothing you can do to convince me!" She yelled in continued defiance

"Moi's new potential customer is an excellent chef, and we are bringing many top-quality ingredients with us," Vanir shot in.

"What are we waiting for Master let's go," She said as she picked Dust up and jumped into the portal, with all the ingredients like it was nothing.

"Where does that portal lead?" Yunyun asked.

"To Hell," Vanir said before he popped into the portal himself, making it shut itself behind him.

"WHAT!" Lynn and Yunyun erupted in worried unison.

**Meanwhile with Kazuma**

(Hmm, how do I get out of this without making any of them wake up?) Kazuma pondered to himself as he rested on top of a blue filolial, with his wife clutching onto his right arm, as she had buried her face into his neck, with Iris mirroring this action, and to make it even harder to escape, Fitoria was laying on top of his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

Luckily for Kazuma, two stray feathers from the nearby filolials got swept up by the wind and landed perfectly on top of Iris' and Megumin's noses. This caused them to having to momentarily let go of Kazuma's arms, giving him an opportunity to use his skill {Escape}. When Kazuma had gotten over to the now dead campfire, he realized that Fitoria still clutched onto him.

"_Don't leave me,_" Fitoria muttered as she started to wake up.

(I wonder what your real master was like, and what happened to him) Kazuma thought to himself as he looked down at the little girl.

Suddenly a black void appeared in front of Kazuma, causing him to jump backward, with the still half-asleep Fitoria. He drew Chunchunmaru and got ready for battle, but then Dust plopped out of the portal face first, quickly followed by Faitfore carrying a ridiculous amount of food with her.

"Dragon! DRAGON!" Fitoria yelled waking the whole camp as she went into a battle stance in front of Kazuma, staring daggers at the little girl in front of her.

"How dare you enter my domain, dragon," Fitoria spat out, clearly offended by her presence.

"What's your problem?" Faitfore asked, very confused by her sudden hostility.

"Don't play dumb with me, you are clearly an elder dragon, and this is obviously the domain of the filolials, how dare you come here so nonchalantly?" Fitoria interrogated, as a strong aura started to emanate from her, and the other filolials started to surround Dust and Faitfore.

"Umm, what is a filolial?" Faitfore asked clearly confused.

"Please settle down, we come in peace, Moi can assure you of that," Vanir said as he elegantly walked out of the portal before he closed itself behind him.

"Vanir, what are you doing here?" Kazuma blurted out.

"Moi is here to establish a friendly business relationship with your eldest son," Vanir explained.

"Master, do you know these people?" Fitoria questioned still focusing on Faitfore.

"I know Vanir, and I feel like I recognize the girl, but the dude with his face planted into the ground doesn't ring a bell," Kazuma answered.

"Master, wake up, we have arrived," Faitfore said as she started to shake him awake.

"Huh, where am I, are they gone now?" Dust nervously asked as he clung back onto Faitfore.

"Oh, Moi must have to wipe some of his memories, being in Hell for 20 seconds was seemingly more than he could handle," Vanir said as he placed his hand over Dust's scared eyes.

"Ok then, seems like we are going on an adventure after all Faitfore, you will have to carry the bags though," Dust suddenly blurted out, after Vanir removed his hand.

"Wonderful, Moi didn't remove too much," Vanir proudly stated, as he backed off.

"Ah, Dust and Faitfore, you can relax Fitoria, they are friends," Kazuma informed as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Very well Master, but I am still suspicious about this elder dragon, I hope you understand," Fitoria said as she wordlessly ordered the other filolials to back off.

"It's fine, I understand," Kazuma retorted, as he looked around to see many confused and shocked people standing on the sideline, with one notable exception, his wife's burning red eyes that silently told him "We need to talk, NOW!"

"Moi has no interest in business with the elder brat, so go and talk with your explosion obsessed wife," Vanir hurried Kazuma along with a wave, with Fitoria following behind him, as he grabbed a hold of Megumin's arm and led her into a secluded spot away from everyone else.

(Why was Fitoria clinging onto Kazuma?) Raphtalia wondered.

"So what is your business with me, eh… Vanir right?" Naofumi threw out there, a little less on guard since the mask was similar to what his father usually wore.

"Ah yes, Devil of the shield, wonderful to make your acquaintance," Vanir politely stated in a bow.

Naofumi instantly narrowed his eyes on Vanir, as he scoffed at the name Vanir used for him.

"Moi meant no offense, that title just seemed like the most impressive one, you see Moi is myself a Devil, or more precisely a Duke of Hell, and Moi has in the past had a most profitable business relationship with your father," Vanir happily explained.

"How did you find us?" Naofumi questioned.

"First, Moi marked the merchandise Moi had most recently sold to your father, with an interdimensional tracker, and from there it was a short trip through Hell, so would you now care to take a look at the merchandise I have to offer?"

"And what would the prize be, my firstborn child or something else cliché," Naofumi mocked.

"Hahaha, you think a great Devil as myself would have any interest in a little human brat, NO! What Moi is proposing would be most profitable for us both, Moi will provide you training with a spear master, and white dragon parts for your shield, in exchange for only selling to Moi or Moi's associates, while you operate in the kingdom of Belzberg," Vanir relayed as he gestured to Faitfore and the still dazed Dust.

(Belzberg, a kingdom I can't travel to or have ever been to, in exchange for more dragon parts for my shield, and training with a spear master would help me deal with that idiot Motoyasu, he doesn't know I can't travel to Belzberg, therefore I would win out in this deal) Naofumi thought to himself as he looked at the little girl casually carrying a ridiculous amount of weight while doing her best to get the blonde man out of his dazed state.

"First, I will test these materials, and IF what you are offering lives up to your claims, then you can consider your part of the deal fulfilled, and when I am in Belzberg I will only make business deals with you and your associates, if the value of the deal exceeds the value of these 5 gold coins," Naofumi said as he presented 5 gold coins.

"Hmm, that would be around 5 million Eris, that change to the deal should be fine, Moi accepts your terms, is the delinquent properly awake now, walking treasure?" Vanir requested as he pulled out a green potion bottle.

"Why are you asking her, shouldn't I be able to tell you if I am fine by myself?" Dust interjected, clearly offended by Vanir's demeaning words.

"Good," Vanir responded as he grabbed ahold of Dust's white-blonde hair, popped the potion bottled open, and forced him to swallow all of its contents.

"Ugh, cough, ANG, cough," Dust twisted around on the ground as he held his throat with both hands.

"What did you do to Master?!"

"Worry not wandering pile of Eris, Moi only gave him an extremely potent experience potion, he should be fine in a minute," Vanir reassured her as Dust suddenly stopped rolling around, and stood up.

"Huh, I feel like strangely normal," Dust stated as he inspected his hands, before he looked at Naofumi, and saw Iris and Darkness standing behind him.

"Kazuma, good to see you bud, when did you color your hair jet-black, not saying that it doesn't look good, just asking," Dust fumbled with his words.

"Do I really look that similar to my dad?" Naofumi directed the question at Iris and Darkness.

"Well, it's hard to mistake you for anything but his son," They answered in astonishing unison.

When Naofumi turned around to face Dust again, he was right up in his face, studying him intensely.

"You sure do take after your father!" Dust stated proudly as he gave a good smack to Naofumi's shield, accidently hitting the green gem, causing both of them to pass out, with Dust's hand now firmly stuck to the gem.

**Meanwhile with Megumin, Kazuma and Fitoria**

"Is there anything you want to tell me before I begin?" Megumin inquired in a threatening tone.

"Indeed, how can you be as irresponsible as to use explosion magic while PREGNANT!?" Kazuma angrily shot off, causing her to take an involuntary step backwards.

"I… HEY, Wait for a second, I am the one that is supposed to be angry here, you didn't-"

"NO! This isn't about me, this is about not causing harm to our unborn child, I don't care that you wanted to let off your explosion, you have to hold back on your urges while you are pregnant, I am mph…" Kazuma was interrupted as Megumin put her hand on his mouth, her eyes burning red with emotions.

"Y-you… d-didn't… tell me… about… M-E-D-E-A!" Megumin said awfully slow, not breaking eye contact with him as she pressed her lips into a frown.

(OH SHIT!) Kazuma thought to himself, as his legs gave out, the force exerted from Megumin's arm that was pressed to his mouth, caused him to fall backwards, causing Fitoria to catch him.

"Master, are you ok?" Fitoria asked in a concerned tone.

"C-could you please leave us alone for a bit Fitoria," Kazuma weakly requested.

"But, what about the dragon?" Fitoria shot in.

"J-just go, keep an eye on her if you want,"

"Ok, Master," Fitoria retorted as she gently put him down, before she left the couple alone.

Megumin looked at Kazuma sitting cross-legged, while staring into the ground, not making any effort to move his head to meet her gaze. This continued for a minute, in almost complete silence, until Megumin's stomach made a loud sound, but none of them laughed. Megumin walked past Kazuma, but she suddenly stopped when she was directly behind him.

Kazuma pulled his legs close to his chest as he let his forehead rest on his knees. A lump formed in his throat, as silent tears started to fall down his cheeks. He hadn't felt so weak before, when he had told everything to his son he felt a lot of guilt, but now, he didn't feel like moving another inch, she could leave him right now and he felt like he would just sit there and rot away.

Megumin went down on her knees, and shot her arms in under his own and wrapped her hands around his now wet chest as she pulled him close to herself. Putting her mouth close to his left ear.

"I won't leave your side until that crazy bitch is gone for good, I don't want to lose you like that again, it was worse than seeing you die all those times, me not knowing if I would ever see you again, not being able to ever again hold onto you as you carried me on your back, to always be filled with regret about the things we didn't get to do, because we both were too shy and stupid," She ranted, as she could feel Kazuma grab ahold of her hands with his own.

Megumin leaned backwards onto the ground as she slowly forced Kazuma to lean back with her. His legs starting to stretch out until Megumin lay flat on the ground with Kazuma laying on top of her, both looking up into the trees above, until Kazuma rolled off her. Laying on his left side, and Megumin on her right. He gave her a serious expression as he finally met her gaze.

"Please give me up, if it is between me and our children, please promise me that," Kazuma begged as he squeezed her hands tightly in his own.

"I won't let it come to-"

"PROMISE ME!" Kazuma interrupted, almost looking angry now.

"NO! WE WILL ALL GO HOME TOGETHER!" Megumin yelled at him, now with tears in her eyes.

Kazuma shot a hand to each side of her head and looked at her with a hard and serious expression. "I am saying IF, IF it between-" Kazuma wasn't able to utter one more word as Megumin smashed her lips against his to shut him up.

She held him tight to herself as she did her best to get both his and her mind off the promise he wanted her to make.

(It's not going to be necessary, we are ALL going to get through this) Megumin thought to herself, as she tried to redirect her focus onto the kiss.

"Master come quick, the shield hero and the red newcomer has collapsed," Fitoria interrupted, causing Megumin to pull Kazuma up in a princess carry as they ran back to camp at a blistering speed, with Fitoria right behind them.

"What happened?" Kazuma and Megumin asked in unison, as they stopped next to the passed out Naofumi and Dust.

"Dust touched Naofumi's shield and then they both collapsed," Iris answered as she inspected Dust's hand still stuck to the green gem on the shield.

"Have you tried to separate them?" Megumin asked.

"We don't know if it is a curse or something else that spreads via touch, so we have left them be for now, and their breathing seems normal, so we can hopefully take our time assessing the situation," Iris retorted as the Naofumi's base shield changed to a more ominous, black and red shield.

"The rage shield activated!" Kazuma and Raphtalia said in unison as they looked over at Filo.

"Why are you staring so much at me?" Filo asked a little confused.

"I don't see any red eyes,"

"And I can't see her chest glow purple,"

"Puah, false alarm then," Raphtalia sighed in relief.

"You just raised a flag!" Kazuma shouted as Naofumi's rage shield erupted into flames that started to envelop Dust, while Filo's eyes turned red, as she went in for a magical claw attack at the passed out Dust, only to be intercepted by Faitfore at the last second as she simply swatted her away like a fly, sending her flying into the trees 50 meters away.

"Megumin quick! Give me Chomusuke," Kazuma ordered as he held out his right hand, while Megumin retrieved her from her hat and plopped her into his outstretched hand.

Filo, now in her filolial form shot out from the trees as she went in for an attack at Faitfore. {BIND!} Kazuma chanted as a black hairball shot out of Chomusuke's mouth and quickly restrained the big bird. This forced Faitfore to change from her defensive position, as she caught the angriest feather ball in her life.

**Meanwhile inside the shield**

"**DISAPPEAR, I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!**" An enraged deep voice boomed, waking Dust, as he stood face to face with Naofumi, his eyes shining an intense shade of red.

"HEY, look at that, your eyes shine red when you are feeling strong emotions, any doubt about you not being related to Megumin, count it as officially gone," Dust said casually as he dusted himself off.

"**I ORDERED YOU TO LEAVE, I DON'T NEED YOU HERE!**" The same voice boomed again, but Naofumi's lips didn't move.

"Wait, that isn't Naofumi talking, this aura, it's a dragon's aura," Dust deduced.

"**LEAVE!**" The voice roared.

"Why would I do that, you were the one that pulled me in here, you felt it right, you felt that I could understand you, that I can help you," Dust stated as flames started to envelope his body.

"**I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, I AM A DRAGON, THE MIGHTIEST CREATURE OF THEM ALL!**" The dragon roared as the flames burned more intensely.

"You can't let this shame you feel for being defeated end up consuming you, it's okay to feel ashamed, but it's not healthy for you to turn that into anger, do you not see that you are clearly affecting my friend's son in a very negative way for both of you," Dust said calmly as he gestured to Naofumi.

"**NO! I AM ANGRY JUST AS HE IS, HE ALSO WANTS TO GET BACK AT THAT DISRESPECTFUL SWORD HERO, I HAVE BEEN WITH HIM, I CAN SEE HIS EMOTIONS, THEY ARE THE SAME AS MINE,**" The dragon roared, as the flames enveloping Dust started to cover his head.

"What's your name?" With those simple words, the flames covering Dust fizzled out as Naofumi fell to his knees, his eyes no longer shining bright red, but now back to their normal green, as he took deep breaths.

"I-it is-is Re-Re-Revalon!" A little boy with dark purple hair cried as he hugged Dust tightly, and cried into his chest, as Dust gently embraced the little boy.

"It's ok, let it all out," Dust said in a reassuring tone, as he patted him on the back with one hand, and gestured for Naofumi to get closer with the other.

Naofumi slowly walked upon the pair, from an angle that both of them should be able to easily see him coming, as the little boy continued to cry into Dust's shirt.

"So you are the dragon that I talked to while on the ship?" Naofumi interrupted, causing the boy to jump away from Dust as he hid his face away from Naofumi.

"_Naofumi, you should try and talk to him, remember he is a relatively young dragon, and his name is Revalon,_" Dust said as he inched away from Naofumi.

"Also, _try to connect with him, instead of fighting over control, that is just going to end up being tiresome for you both, and none of you benefit from it,_" Dust shot in before Naofumi had even taken a step towards Revalon.

Naofumi gave an understanding nod as he slowly walked towards Revalon.

"Don't come any closer!" Revalon suddenly yelled, causing Naofumi to momentarily stop, but he still didn't face Naofumi, so Naofumi kept walking closer.

"I told you to **STOP!**" Revalon roared as he turned around, and stared daggers at him, Naofumi didn't stop immediately, but he instead took another step forward as he proceeded to sit down in front of the boy.

"Now that you are looking at me, let's talk," Naofumi said as he meet the harsh stare of Revalon with his own.

"You are not on the same level as him, and I can't imagine you ever will be," Revalon stated, as he pointed at Dust.

"Why is that the case, Revalon?" Naofumi inquired, his tone stern, but still calm.

"He respects me, with you I only have a common enemy that we both want to destroy, you have done nothing but use me up to now," Revalon said, clearly a little offended.

"So that is why you have tried to fuel my anger, so that you can gain control over me?" Naofumi guessed.

"Correct, but I have to say, your will is stronger than I had thought it would be, however affecting your gluttonies filolial is a good substitution," Revalon stated with a mischievous smile.

"Hmm, well we do have to co-exist now, how could I possibly gain your respect Revalon, so that we can work together when facing enemies?"

"Did you give the remains of my body a proper burial, the parts of me that you didn't absorb into your shield that is?"

"What I didn't absorb, we burned to stop the plague that originated from your body, I don't know if that is something you deem a proper burial?"

"No, it is a most respectful way for my remains to be handled, my mother fostered my body in the flames, and it ended in the flames, more than adequate," Revalon said, clearly satisfied with the answer.

"The plague was more than just your rotting body though, why did I end up with your consciousness and the sword hero didn't?"

"Simple Shield Hero, when the sword hero defeated me he didn't absorb my core, he just left my body there like I was a common monster, no less, apparently nothing on my body was of value to him, such disgrace and shame festered in me for a long time, and when you arrived I lashed out with my remaining body, only seeing a disgusting hero in-front of me, but you might have some merit to form a covenant with me," Revalon told Naofumi.

"A covenant?" Naofumi asked, clearly not familiar with the word.

"It means you might have a chance of getting to an agreement with him, currently I have a covenant with Faitfore," Dust shot in.

"Which means you are this dragon's Master, anything else would be unacceptable," Revalon said, which Dust answered with a quick nod.

"Ok, I would like to form a covenant with you Revalon, where I can call upon your power, without you resisting me, or trying to take control, but rather work together with me as a comrade to keep each other alive," Naofumi proposed.

"Hmm, and when would you call upon my power?" Revalon questioned

"In dire situations would qualify in my mind, for example when one of my allies or myself are in danger of losing their life to an attacker, then as a purely defensive option, I will resort to your strength before I utilize the Rage shield, do you deem this as a fair covenant?" Naofumi prodded

"No, this does not account for when or if you get stronger, to the point that I become obsolete, then I am just one of your many redundant abilities, I wish for an more active role as your {Dragon Shield}, I would be able to take a form similar to that of my old self when possible, and help you be offensive, not to the degree of the rage shield, but it would only cost you Skill Points to use me," Revalon counter-offered.

"Would you be able to get along and work with Filo, because if not then that would be a huge detriment to my party's teamwork, and if we are in a non-combat situation, do you still use my Skill Points?"

"Shield hero, I will do my best to try and form a somewhat ok partnership with your filolial, and as for your second question, Skill Points are used when I either change my form, or when I use some of my abilities, so pulling me out will cost you Skill Points, but it will not cost anything to return to your shield's base form, now with this information are you ok to form a covenant with me, Shield Hero?"

"If you become too rowdy, or if I need to use another shield as the occasion requires, you must without protest return back and give me full control, these are the conditions for my covenant," Naofumi said as he stretched his hand out.

"Very well, I hereby accept this covenant with the Shield Hero, with a great Dragon Master as our witness," Revalon said as he grabbed ahold of Naofumi's hand and shook it thrice.

The next moment Dust and Naofumi shot up from the ground and stood to their feet.

"Ouch, he actually burned me," Dust complained as he checked himself over, this caused Faitfore to jump on him and started to cry on his burn wounds, as she spread the tears around on his skin with her silver hair. The cursed wounds created by the shield quickly vanished when Faitfore brushed over them.

Naofumi didn't get much time to inspect the occurrence, before he was tackled to the ground by Melty, Raphtalia and Megumin, while Kazuma went over to cut Filo free from her constraints, as he checked Filo over for any possible injuries, she might have received.

"Faitfore I am fine now. So Naofumi you wanted to learn how to effectively fight against a spear user right?" Dust shot-in as Naofumi finally was let free from the hug/inspection.

"Yeah, there is a selfish dumbass out there that uses a spear, and I would prefer to be able to knock him out if he ends up being too stubborn to talk things through," Naofumi informed.

"Magical spear I presume," Naofumi gave a quick nod to Dust's guess, "Ok, but there are still some basic weaknesses you can exploit, come I will show you," Dust said as he picked up the spear Vanir had brought along with them, with everyone following after him, except for Iris, Faitfore, Fitoria, Kazuma and Megumin.

**Meanwhile with the Bow and Spear Hero**

"REN IS DEAD!" both Itsuki and Motoyasu erupted in unison as Myne told them the news.

"Yes, the sword hero was brutally murdered by the devil of shield, with help from the devil of obliteration, The Pope of the Three Heroes Church has informed me of these matters personally, so I know it is true," Bit… wait, I mean Myne twisted the truth like usual, as she hid the smirk she received from their faces contorting into anger.

"That **BASTARD!**" Motoyasu said with gritted teeth, as he stabbed his spear into the floorboards.

"We will **AVENGE YOU REN!**" Itsuki swore as he lifted his bow into the air, quickly receiving words of encouragement from his party members of Yes-men/women.

**Back to Kazuma**

"I am hungry now, would you please prepare the food I have brought with me," Faitfore immediately directed her attention to Kazuma, sensing he had very advanced cooking skills.

"Yeah, I can do that, the others are going to get hungry soon regardless," Kazuma answered as he walked over to inspect the many different food products Faitfore had just been carrying.

"Master, be mindful of the elder dragon," Fitoria warned.

"I meant to ask this earlier, but why is she calling you Master?" Megumin interrogated.

Kazuma turned around and met Megumin's gaze with his own, "Remember that chicken egg Aqua bought, and kept insisting was a dragon?"

"Yeah,"

"Yeah, apparently that one marked me as its master, and this could very well be a reunion," Kazuma explained.

"What if it isn't a reunion?" Megumin asked, causing Kazuma to walk very close to her.

"_Then I am not this filolial's master, and there is some other weird reason behind why I have an identical smell marker to what she put on her original master,_" Kazuma whispered so low that even Megumin that had her ear up to his mouth barely heard it.

"Ok," Megumin quickly retorted as she made a move to walk away, but Kazuma tried to hold her in place.

"Please promise me," was all he was able to utter before Megumin was out of his grip, and quickly walked over to watch Naofumi's training with Dust.

"Kazuma, what's wrong?" Iris asked, with concern clear in her voice.

"She doesn't want to promise me, she will put our children's life above my own if we were to meet Medea unprepared," Kazuma complained.

"Well, I think it comes more down to her not wanting to ever again lose anything to that bitch," Iris said as she rubbed him on the back, and gave him a quick peck.

"Master, could you prepare a dish with these ingredients for me?" Fitoria requested as she brought forward, tomatoes, flour, fresh yeast, salt, cheese, onions and a fatty piece of side flesh.

"Hey, I can make a pizza out of this," Kazuma mindlessly muttered as his {Cooking} skill kicked in.

**Meanwhile with Naofumi and Dust**

"Good stance, there is a weakness to a strong defense stance though, care to guess what?" Dust took on his role as a teacher much quicker than the others thought him capable of, given his rather shabby looking appearance.

"Hmm, I don't get toppled over if I hold a solid stance, but I do prepare myself to tank an attack, and it could be stronger than I expect, stunning me momentarily," Naofumi guessed.

"Let's see if you are correct," Dust said as he adorned a mischievous grin and prepared an attack stance. "Remember, if my spear touches any of your vital parts, a point goes to me, and if 5 seconds pass without me hitting you, you get a point," Naofumi gave a nod to the rules that Dust put forth, as he got into a battle stance.

"Give us the countdown Raphtalia," Naofumi ordered.

"Ok, 3, 2, 1, START!" Raphtalia shouted.

Dust shot towards him, as Naofumi went into a stance and prepared to take the attack head on, but at the last second, Dust jammed the spear into the ground in front of Naofumi and used his momentum to vault over Naofumi. The plan was to jab Naofumi in the back mid-flip, but a green shield appeared out of thin air and blocked the attack, forcing Dust into an early roll.

"Good counter," Dust complimented, as he went in for a flurry of attacks, that Naofumi forced Naofumi on the defensive. It reminded him of the duel he had with Motoyasu in the past, but at the same time it was on a completely different level. Dust didn't leave any openings for a counter-attack, or at least not any that he had time to spot or predict, he barely had time to block, so he backed up to get some time to collect his thoughts, but Dust didn't let up his flurry of attacks, and forced him backwards.

(Since he wants to attack me so much, let's see if I counter him) Naofumi thought as he activated the {Dog bite} shield, but when the two dog heads went in to bite him Dust was able to keep them at bay as he increased his speed.

(Shield hero, it's time) Naofumi heard in his head, as he allowed the shield to transform into the {Dragon} Shield.

The {Dragon} Shield was the size of a pony, with silvery scales, wings of black metal, the gem was placed in one of its eye sockets, while the other remained empty. However, this didn't exactly turn the battle in Naofumi's favor, because now he was basically unarmed, with a dragon on a 20m leash, and Revalon wasn't used to his new body, so he was very slow and predictable, giving Dust ample opportunity to alternate between dodging Revalon's attacks, and hitting Naofumi with his own.

"I concede," Naofumi said as he put his arms up in the air, making Dust's attack seize on the spot.

"You achieved to get 12 points Naofumi, very well done, and I achieved 127, it's very clear you can hold off an intermediate spear user or better, even if they are stronger than you, but a few pointers for improvement, except for the big obvious one," Dust relayed as he pointed to Revalon with his spear.

"Am I a failure!" Revalon cried out in fear as he saw his great idol point at him.

"Nah, you guys just need to work on your teamwork, because now you just acted independently of each other, but you can't do that, because Naofumi loses almost all of his defense capabilities when you are active, so you have to make up for that, you understand?" Dust said in a tone as if he was talking to a child.

"Yes," Revalon retorted as he lowered his head in shame.

"Master what is the meaning of this, why did your shield turn into a useless dragon?" Filo questioned as she ran up to Naofumi.

"Hey! I am not useless," Revalon yelled clearly offended by her remarks.

"Well, I guess you are right,"

"Exactly I-"

"You are more than just useless, because Master did much better without you," Filo interrupted.

"You little!" Revalon angrily muttered, as Filo's chest started to glow purple.

"AHH, MY CHEST HURTS!" Filo screamed as she bent over.

"STOP IT! Or you are going back into the shield," Naofumi commanded, but Revalon just kept on increasing the glow, so Naofumi kept his word and returned his shield to its base form.

"He answered disrespect with disrespect, but you did good in giving him an honest warning, and delivering real consequences when he didn't listen to you," Dust complimented.

"Never mind him, what pointers did you want to give me?"

"First of all, spear users thrive when they have some distance between themselves and their opponent, so when I was forcing you back, you should try to push towards me, because it restricts my attacks and vision of other possible opponents, showing your shield into my face or spear could win you a fight,"

"Secondly, when you are attacked by magic abilities or strong physical attacks, work on trying to deflect them off you as opposed to wasting your energy on taking the full force of the attack, but remember to be aware of where you deflect attacks so it doesn't hit your allies," Dust summarized.

"You sound like you have taught a lot of people how to fight, are you always this reliable?" Naofumi asked, as he took in the information.

"Well, since you ask, I am-"

"NEVER LIKE THIS!" Megumin interrupted as she walked up to the three while scowling at Dust.

"What have you done to lazy delinquent that always try to get everyone in on your dumb, get-rich-quick schemes, that almost always end in grand failure, I am letting it slide this time since it actually looks like you are doing something honest for once, but if you try to drag my family into any of your problems then you will feel my wrath," Megumin threatened as her eyes lit up red.

Dust gulped audibly as he backed away from Megumin, (Glowing red eyes on Naofumi was strangely endearing, but on her it's just bone chilling)

**Meanwhile by the campfire**

"Now while the dough is rising, I am going to build a stone oven, Fitoria could you get me a bunch of stones, while I make the mortar,"

"It will be done Master," Fitoria responded before she left a dust cloud behind.

"I know you learned tricks from Vanir back in the day, but how are you going to build a stone oven in less time it takes for the dough to rise?" Iris inquired.

"Excuse me, but I actually have experience with mixing mortar down to a T, and I picked up how to make it set in less than 1 minute from Aqua, making a stone oven couldn't be easier for me," Kazuma bragged, as he created {Earth Golems} to make the mortar for him.

"Since when could you do that?" Iris asked in befuddlement.

"I learned {Golem creation} from Vanir," Kazuma quickly shot in as he laid down on the ground.

**39 minutes 46 seconds and 22 milliseconds later**

"Ok the first pizza is ready," Kazuma said as he pulled out a onion and bacon pizza, the aroma was unfamiliar, but extremely pleasant for the girls.

Faitfore was basically drooling as she stared upon this new dish, Iris looked at the dish with clear interest, while Fitoria took slow steps towards the pizza never taking her eyes off the delicacy.

"Master, would you allow me to take this?" Fitoria said in a tone that was a bit out of it.

"Eh, sure, I am going to make a lot more regardless," Kazuma answered as Fitoria took the while pizza in her hands and walked a little bit into the forest to be alone.

"Why does she get the whole thing?!" Faitfore complained, in a manner most fitting to her appearance, this delectable dish got carried further and further away from her.

"Behave yourself!" Iris sternly reprimanded as she grabbed ahold of Faitfore's shoulder and gave her a judging stare.

"I-I am not afraid of you, the travel to this world didn't weaken me like it did to you," Faitfore said in a shaky voice.

Iris show a knowing and smug smile to Faitfore as she leaned in and whispered, "If you don't behave I will command Dust to restrict you from ever getting a single bite of Kazuma's dishes," the threat caused Faitfore to freeze up, before she sat down as neatly as she possibly could, and stopped complaining.

"Another one is done, you guys are ok with splitting the pizza, right?" Kazuma said after a few minutes as he presented them with a neatly cut bacon and onion pizza.

"Hmm, I can take one piece for now, Faitfore can take the rest," Iris said as she picked up one piece, and as soon as she had her one piece in hand, the rest of the pizza had vanished, with Faitfore chewing happily.

"She looks like she approves, but what about you Iris?"

"Well, the smell is new and unfamiliar, but in a good way, the only thing that comes close to the smell is-"

"Just eat it already!" Kazuma interrupted as he put another pizza in the oven.

"Geez, ok, I just wanted some time to take everything in before I ate it," Iris chuckled as she proceeded to take a bite of the steaming hot pizza piece, letting out an involuntary moan as the taste of the dish spread around her mouth.

"Huh, _note to self: Iris might be into food play,_" Kazuma muttered to himself as saw how far gone Iris was in her piece of pizza.

"More please," Faitfore said as she looked up at Kazuma with huge puppy eyes.

"Elder dragon, step away from my Master while he is cooking, if you were to interrupt his concentration, while he is constructing such masterpieces, you might very well ruin them," Fitoria said in a commanding tone as she suddenly stood in-between Kazuma and a very hungry Faitfore.

"Based on that I take it you enjoyed your pizza," Kazuma said with a little smugness present in his voice.

"Yes Master, would you like to m-mate with me now?" Fitoria asked, as a red blush appeared on her normally stoic face, as she turned around to meet Kazuma's gaze.

"Eh, what now?" Iris yelled out in shock, as the question brought her out of her pizza trance.

"I simply asked Master if he would like to mate with me, and as I understand it, he already shares a polygamous relationship with both you and Megumin, and I find Master as a most suitable mating partner and would also establish such a relationship with Master," Fitoria explained as she stared back at Iris, now with her usual stone face.

"Fitoria, I am not going to have sex with you, unless Megumin and Iris specifically requests it," Kazuma said as he pulled out another finished pizza.

"Oh, Iris-"

"Ask Megumin," Iris interrupted.

"Ok then, I will go and-"

"Actually scratch that, you can ask Megumin after I have given you permission, which I have yet to do," Iris quickly relayed, stopping Fitoria before she took another step.

"I see, well then I will wait for your permission," Fitoria said with a solemn expression as she turned back to Kazuma, as Faitfore was about to eat the last piece of that pizza.

"YOU GLUTTON!" Fitoria roared as snatched the piece out of Faitfore's hand, before she went back into the forest with the piece of pizza.

Faitfore with a face full of pizza just looked on in horror, as the one piece she wasn't able to stuff in her mouth was taken away from her. The only comfort she had was the pizza already in her mouth.

**Naofumi's training**

"Hah, hah, I am parched,"

"It's ok Naofumi, your improved a lot, but I still think you need to wait with trying to summon Revalon, at least until you both can work together in tandem," Dust said as crouched down beside his student.

"I am a little annoyed by you not even being little tired, but I learned a lot, so it's fine," Naofumi said while slightly grinning.

"Good, you are done with the training, would you say it was satisfactory, Devil of the Shield?" Vanir questioned.

"Yeah, it was, you surely delivered a very capable teacher, but now to our second part of our deal, give me the dragon parts," Naofumi inquired.

"Hahaha, Moi enjoys the fact that you didn't forget, but fret not, Moi was only making sure this delinquent lived up to the deal, before Moi gave you these dragon parts, here you go," Vanir explained as Naofumi received a tube with 10 long silver hairs.

Naofumi opened the tube and fished out the hairs, and let them fall into his shield where they were absorbed. A new tree unlocked but instead of being given a name to the new shield that was available, it just said: **New shield unlocked: {?} Level requirement: {420}.**

"Moi sees that you are disappointed, and Moi loves it, but Moi assures you that when you reach the required level, you will be most thankful for this shield," Vanir said.

"Yeah, that is assuming I live long enough to reach that level," Naofumi scuffed.

"Indeed!" Vanir exclaimed as he started to laugh.

"In that case I will only consider this deal as finalized when I reach that level," Naofumi shot in, seemingly knocking the air out of Vanir.

"Ah, Moi remembers why doing business with your family members are so fun, well then until we meet again, Devil of the Shield," Vanir said, as he gestured for Dust to follow him.

Vanir and Dust walked over to Kazuma making pizzas, and just before Faitfore could grab the pizza that just came out of the oven, Dust grabbed her by the collar. Then in less than a second, Vanir had opened the portal to hell, and dragged both Dust and Faitfore with him. However the portal didn't close immediately, since Vanir had a final message.

"Moi would gladly start a restaurant franchise in Belzberg based around this peculiar dish with your name on it, of course your house would get a cut of the money," Vanir proposed.

"65-35 split for my house," Kazuma instantly offered.

"Moi would prefer a 60-40 split of the profit," Vanir counter-offered.

"Deal, but if the business goes bankrupt, my house won't bail you out,"

"Don't worry, such a thing won't happen, since Moi won't allow the useless shopkeeper anywhere near that source of income," Vanir said as he closed the portal behind himself.

**40 seconds later in Wiz's shop**

A portal opened as Dust and Faitfore walked out. Dust had bound her hair like a blindfold around his eyes. Then Vanir stepped out of the portal as he tossed an overweight man on the floor. His eyes were wide, and he shook violently. The only other person in the shop was Wiz cleaning some potion bottles.

"Oh, thank goodness you came back alive, so did everything work out?" Wiz asked as Dust took off the makeshift blindfold.

"Yeah, we even picked up the child torturer on the way," Dust answered as he pointed to the fat man lying on the floor.

"Hmm, why does he look so relieved?" Wiz asked, as the room started to get colder.

"Well, he was in hell, and now he isn't, I guess I would be pretty relieved if I were in his shoes," Dust answered.

"Moi assures the useless shopkeeper that this scum is scarred for life, so please don't fire off your magic in the shop," Vanir intervened as he started to gesture for Dust to leave with the prisoner, which he promptly did by dragging the man behind him as Faitfore looked longingly back at the still open portal to hell.

"_I wanted more of that heavenly pizza,_" She muttered to herself, before she started to follow after Dust. Then Vanir closed the portal to hell.

**1 hour later in the throne room**

"So you recaptured the prisoner?" Masaharu questioned as he looked at Dust with suspicious eyes.

"I did indeed," Dust answered as they both looked down at the shaking and frightened man.

"Did you torture him?" Masaharu questioned.

"No, it was more like I saved him from the depths of despair," At Dust's answer Masaharu double-checked the silent-bell in his pocket.

"Very well, since you have made up for your mistake as a guard by recapturing him, you will not be prosecuted, but you are still fired for negligence, you can leave now," Masaharu said as Dust quickly left, relieved at the news.

"So tell me, how did you escape?" Masaharu said as he crouched down to meet the darting gaze of Idol, in response Idol just shook his head as he went into a fetal position.

"TALK MAN, SAY SOMETHING!" Masaharu shouted at the frightened Idol, as he started to whimper and cover his eyes. Such actions from a previously prideful man caused him to pause.

"Until I know how you escaped you will be kept under 24 hour surveillance, do you understand this?" At his words Idol nodded furiously as his eyes started to water.

"GUARDS, TAKE HIM AWAY!" Robin suddenly ordered as she popped out of thin air, two guards grabbed ahold of him as they brought Idol down to a new modified cell.

"Did you just feel pity for him?" She said as she went closer to her brother.

"I just wonder what happened to him, he is so different from when we last saw him,"

"I still just see a fat fuck that harmed children, who cares what happened to him," Robin argued with disgust clear in her voice.

"Someone can't just go around and torture whoever they want, even if that man is despicable he still has basic human rights, I refuse to sink down to that level," Masaharu countered.

"What do you know, you are stuck in the kitchen most of the time, while I am out there in the world actually facing evil people that abuse their power, I get evidence on them, and I make them pay for what they-"

"Robin do you know what happened to him?" Masaharu interrupted, causing Robin to meet her brother's serious blue eyes.

"Of course I don't know that,"

**RING! **Could be heard from Masaharu's pocket causing Robin's eyes to widen.

"You lied sister, what happened to him?" Masaharu said as he shot his arm up to grab her arm, but she dodged him and backed away.

"I just offered him a way out of the prison, it was his own choice to step into the hell portal," Robin relented.

"You sent him to HELL! That is worse than a death sentence, no wonder he is acting like that," Masaharu yelled back at his sister.

"No, I made Vanir offer him a way out of his prison cell, and into hell, the terms were really clear, it is his own fault for walking into hell," Robin argued.

"Oh yeah, Vanir talked to him about going to hell, the devil knows exactly how to play people to do what he wants, or in this case what you wanted, how many people have you sent to hell by now, 100 or 1000?" Masaharu reprimanded his sister.

"NO! He was the first," Robin quickly shot in to defend herself.

"Well, he is not the first person to torture children, why was he so special," He wanted to dig deeper, this somehow seemed more personal to her.

Robin stayed silent as she met her blue eyes of her brother with her own green. "Because he hurt you!" Robin revealed.

"Excuse me, he hurt me, I know he didn't want to eat my food, but that didn't exactly hurt me, I mean if he wants to only eat hot potatoes for the rest of his life, I will gladly oblige, but how did this lead you to send him to hell? Just seems like a bit of an overreaction to me," Masaharu interrogated further.

"No, he definitively hurt you, or at least someone close to you, I can sense when someone has wronged my family," Robin kept on insisting.

"How can you tell that for certain?" Her brother inquired.

"I think it is a blessing from Eris, for example, I knew when you were being bullied by those noble kids for always wanting to be in the kitchen, so I made them a special cocktail of laxatives until they stopped hurting you,"

"Hmm, well I do appreciate that, but it is a big difference between that and sending someone to hell," Masaharu retorted, while doing his best to avoid chuckling at the thought of 10 prideful noble children, practically living on the toilets.

"What about the girls that made your soup inedible in the cooking contest, causing you to lose, Komekko helped me curse them with always telling the truth, giving you another shot at the contest that you promptly won," Robin said with an infectious smile, causing Masaharu to also smile involuntary.

"Ok, ok, I believe you have that gift, but again, that is not comparable to sending someone to hell," Masaharu said as he chuckled, as he remembered back to the two girls confessing everything to him, one of them even confessed her feelings for him.

"What about last year, someone tried to kill you, so I tracked him down and found all the incriminating agendas and co-conspirators, that I later made mom exile, I saved you from marrying a woman that wanted you dead brother, so I am very effective," Robin said as she got closer.

"Ok, I understand why you did what you did, but hell is just on another level, because it is eternal suffering," Masaharu insisted, much to his sister chagrin.

"Well, it didn't end up being eternal, so what's the big deal?" Robin casually said, as her brother gave her a deadpan stare.

"You intended for it to be eternal, didn't you?" He said with a knowing smile, as Robin averted his gaze.

"Maybe," She answered, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Just don't do it again, he didn't hurt me in any way, so just let him live with what he experienced, he seemingly went mute so it all works out, but I mean it, LEAVE HIM ALONE!" His tone was serious and demanding, the expression was unusual on his face, but still very fitting.

"Sure bro, but if he tries to kill himself I am not sure anybody is going to try and stop him," Robin said before she vanished into thin air again.

"Eh, that is not my problem," Masaharu shrugged as he went back to his throne.

**Back to camp, 3,5 hours later**

Everyone had just finished eating the final pizza's, completely emptying out the bags of food Vanir had brought them. The current tally on full pizzas eaten were. It was only those ingredients in the bags, and yes, Kazuma prepared a lot of dough.

Darkness = 2

Filo = 10

Fitoria = 13 + 1/8

Iris = 3

Kazuma = 2

Megumin = 5

Melty = 1 + 1/3

Naofumi = 2 + 1/3

Raphtalia = 2 + 1/3

The 104 other Filolials got a piece of pizza each, Naofumi and Kazuma switched on pizza duty.

"Now Shield Hero, are you prepared to try and converse with the other heroes?" Fitoria questioned as she returned from the forest, after having eaten her last pizza in private.

"Just give us 30 minutes to digest the food," Kazuma shot in as he laid down on a sleepy filolial, then Megumin stood over him, and when she noted that he was napping she laid down next to him, quickly followed by Iris, and lastly Fitoria.

"_Aren't you two fighting?_" Iris asked in a whispery voice.

"Shush," Megumin only retorted as she snuggled up to him, but when Fitoria lay on top of him, Megumin pushed her off him, leading to Fitoria defiantly climbing back onto Kazuma's chest.

"Leave her alone Megumin," Kazuma suddenly retorted as he wrapped his right arm around her chest and pulled her close. "_I'll let you find another way if it comes down to it, but you also need to trust me to find another solution you don't see,_" Kazuma whispered into her ear, causing her to tighten the hug in response.

Darkness removed herself from the spectacle of everyone snuggling up to Kazuma as she sat down further into the forest. With Naofumi, Filo, Melty and Raphtalia, going over strategy plans.

**50 minutes later**

Everything of essentials were loaded up on the modified carriage as the party prepared itself to be teleported by Fitoria, to the closest hero available.

"Are you ready for the teleportation to take place?" Fitoria questioned.

"I think so, Raphtalia did you double check our cargo?" Naofumi inquired as she shot him a thumbs up.

"Yep, we are ready," He said as soon as he saw her reply.

"Very well then, hold onto the carriage, and I will teleport you close to another hero," She ordered before a sudden flash of light transported everyone away, except for Megumin, Iris and Fitoria herself.

"Why didn't you teleport us Fitoria?" Megumin interrogated as she gripped her staff tighter, and Iris brought her hand down to her sword.

"I wanted to tell you both something, I don't remember why Master and I go separated all those centuries ago, but I do remember feeling weak, scared and alone the last time I saw Master, I now leave him in your care as I return to my fight my own fights, DON'T LET HIM-"

"Meow," (Oh zip it birdbrain, just teleport us already) Chomusuke interrupted as Fitoria stared with angry eyes at black cat, before a white flash blinded all of them.

"Oh there you are, where is Fitoria?" Darkness asked.

"She said she will be returning to her other duties," Iris answered, with Kazuma nodding in response to the answer.

"Fitoria wanted me to talk with some of the other heroes to try and prove my innocence, and she did say she teleported us close to one of them, so if we are lucky we avoid Mr. Too Prideful and Mr. Too Dumb, and can get a conversation with Ren," Naofumi summarized the ideal scenario.

"Hey I do see someone over by that wall," Kazuma shot-in.

"Can you make out who it is?" Raphtalia asked.

"Yeah, just give me a second, {Farsight}" Then Kazuma saw Itsuki and Motoyasu talking with each other, they both looked properly pissed off.

"So son, how good are your negotiation skills, like from a 1 to 10?" Kazuma questioned rhetorically.

"Ah, fuck, it's both of the idiots isn't it,"

"Yeah, but I do have a plan," Kazuma retorted.

"Well, let's hear it,"

**40 minutes later**

"Who goes there, declare yourself?" Motoyasu commanded.

(Ugh, so fucking cliché) Kazuma internally groaned.

"Look at that, we meet again heroes," a man with a black and white mask said as he walked forward, with everyone pointing their weapons at him.

"You're the merchant I keep running into, what are you doing here alone without your carriage or your fiancé?" Itsuki questioned as he slightly lowered his bow.

"I come with a request for a friendly conversation, between you and the shield hero,"

"HE HAS BEEN BRAINWASHED BY THE DEVIL OF THE SHIELD, HAVE HIM RESTRAINED THIS INSTANT!" Myne roared as soon as Kazuma had gotten to say his sentence, and the guards quickly followed the order as they forced him to his knees.

"The shield hero can't even brainwash anyone, I mean I couldn't honestly call him a stubborn asshole if he was brainwashing me, but today he didn't come here to be a stubborn asshole, he came here to try and have an open conversation with you guys, so he can try and prove his innocence," Kazuma explained.

"There is no hope for that after what he just did Mr. Essler," Itsuki said as he looked down at Kazuma.

"Hey look at that, you remembered my name bow hero, but what did he supposedly do this time, and I assume it is something new since you just said "**What he just did,**"" Kazuma inquired.

"He killed Ren, with the help of the devil of obliteration," Motoyasu said with anger clear in his voice.

"What source gave you that information, did you even bother to-"

"I think an account from the pope of the three heroes church is a reliable source," Myne interrupted.

"As I was about to say, did you even bother to ask when the kill took place?" Kazuma challenged.

"No, but I know my party members to be trusted," Motoyasu countered.

"Ok, ok, you don't believe she lies to you, but do you think your party members can't be tricked," Kazuma argued, causing even Motoyasu to become uncertain.

"M-Myne, did you get any information on when they found Ren dead?" Motoyasu stammered as he looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Yesterday at dawn, a giant explosion could be seen as the sword hero and his party got turned to dust, that is what the pope has relayed to me," Myne fabricated on the spot with ease.

"Bullshit,"

"You know what, enough of this, let us see who is under this mask," Myne said with an evil grin as she gestured for the soldiers to remove it.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you, just going to end up being a huge disappointment," Kazuma said as a third soldier ripped off his mask, but he quickly looked down towards the ground before anyone got a look at his face.

"You will look at me," Myne commanded as she forced him to face her, by dragging his head up by the hair.

"WHAT!" Everyone screamed out in unison when they were face to face with, a faceless man. Melty released her hold on his hair, as she stepped away with weird look of disappointment on her face.

"I take it, based on your reactions, that none of you have seen a golem before, made it by myself, didn't bother with the face, so I just covered it up with my mask, oh yeah I am going to need that back {Steal}" The golem yelled, before it disintegrated and the mask vanished from the soldier's hand.

"Well, the jig is up, try talking to them, but prepare for them to attack you as soon as they see you, but don't worry we are right behind you, {Lurk}" Kazuma said, before he, Megumin and Iris vanished from sight.

"Why didn't he conceal you?"

"I can't distract them from attacking you if I am concealed," Darkness quickly answered as she took the vanguard.

"Wait, that is still like a 40-minute walk, let's take the carriage," Naofumi ordered, with everyone nodding in agreement.

**10 minutes later with travel by carriage**

"Ok, let us walk from here, about 500 meters should keep the carriage out of harm's way," Naofumi deduced as they all started to walk towards the assembled group of idiots.

"HEY GUYS! I AM WAVING THE FIGURATIVE WHITE FLAG OF CEASEFIRE!" Naofumi shouted, but both Itsuki and Motoyasu shot off attacks that Darkness tanked without even budging.

(That barely tingled, stupid armor) Darkness sighed internally as she continued to walk forwards.

"Come on guys I just want to talk," Naofumi tried again, only to be met by another barrage of attacks.

"We won't listen to the devil of the shield!" Motoyasu exclaimed as he shot off more barrages of magical attacks.

"You will pay for what you did to Ren!" Itsuki added as he shot off his own barrage of attacks, all stopped by Darkness.

"I didn't do anything to Ren, the three heroes church is playing you, all of you, and Myne is in cahoots with them," Naofumi said, but they just kept up their attacks.

"I will distract the bow heroes team, you show off what you have learned," Darkness said as she casually tanked another barrage of attacks, before she ran straight towards Itsuki forcing him and his group to change positions.

"Perfect, {Lightning cage}!" Myne chanted as she trapped her own allies, with Naofumi's group, as Itsuki and his group kept on trying to harm Darkness.

"You are actually using a lightning cage?!" Melty questioned with an incredulous voice, in complete disbelief over how stupid her actions were.

"Indeed, and impenetrable prison made out of lighting-" Myne was interrupted as Darkness, "accidentally," dodged one of Itsuki's attacks and jumped straight through the barrier.

"Sorry, excuse me," Darkness said as she slowly walked out of the lighting prison, everyone just looked at the spectacle in pure shock.

One from Itsuki's group was so surprised by the nonchalant behavior of the female black knight that he touched it out of curiosity. This of course electrocuted him into a deep-fried tin-soldier.

"Uh, Never mind that, I will avenge Ren's death, I swear it!" Motoyasu exclaimed, as he got into a battle stance.

"You won't listen to me, because you trust that bitch too much, you big idiot!" Naofumi yelled as he took his own stance.

"Enough of your poisonous words, YOU ARE FINISHED!" Motoyasu declared as he charged in for a strike.

Naofumi deflected the strike as he pushed forward and pinned Motoyasu's hands between his shield and Motoyasu's chest, and when he tried to kick away from Naofumi, Naofumi shot his leg out behind Motoyasu causing him to fall backwards and land on his back. Before Motoyasu was able to get back up, Naofumi was on top of him pinning him to the ground.

"{SHIELD PRISON!}" Naofumi chanted, causing the roof of the prison to spawn directly above Motoyasu, leaving him no room to move.

(That was smooth) Kazuma thought proudly.

"{Zweit fire squall}" Myne chanted, as a barrage of fire shot out towards them

"I won't let that happen {Anti-Zweit Fire squall}" Melty chanted as an umbrella of water absorbed the entire attack. "Naofumi, now!"

"Ok, Filo are you ready?"

"You bet!" Filo quickly confirmed as she rushed straight for the fire-bitch, quickly knocking her out before she managed another chant, and without any of the other girls being able to react in time, they decided to throw down their weapons and surrender. The lighting cage disappeared in the next moment.

"WHY WON'T YOU GO DOWN!" Itsuki yelled in frustration as he sent out more useless attacks.

"Ok, enough of this, {Create water}{Freeze}," Kazuma chanted dozing two girls in water, before they were frozen solid, {Dash} then the next second Kazuma was standing right next to another two placing a hand on one neck each, then he activated {Drain Touch}, causing them both to collapse, {Bind} Kazuma chanted as he pulled out a hairball he had gotten from Chomusuke that bound Itsuki in an instant.

"You just have to show me up, or what?" Naofumi complained with a grin on his face.

"Just a little, {Bind}" Kazuma retorted with a similar grin, as he shot another one of Chomusuke's hairball towards the now free Motoyasu.

Suddenly Filo collected everyone knocked out or tied up in bundle next to Naofumi. "Master quick, bring up all the shields you have, we are going to need everything, NOW!" Filo yelled, clearly distressed.

Everyone huddled up as close as the managed to Naofumi as he started chanting, {Shield Prison}

"We need more, up above!"

"{Air strike shield} {Second Shield}!"

"{Defensive Sacrifice}" Darkness chanted as she placed her hands on the walls of the shield prison.

Then a giant beam of light rained down from the sky, quickly obliterating the shields above the shield ball, before it started to tear away at the ball itself. Even though the ball protected them from the blast, the heat started to rapidly increase, that Kazuma countered with continuously casting {Freeze}.

"Who would've thought I would be using something I learned for cooling myself down on hot summer days for saving my family from getting cooked alive," Kazuma nervously chuckled.

"Just keep chanting!" Everyone still awake yelled at him.

Then the attack finally dissipated, and with that Naofumi's shield prison fell apart. Then slow clapping could be heard from the top of the now newly formed crater they now stood in. Naofumi fell to his knees, tired from the endeavor of holding the shield prison up with Darkness.

"_Hee-hee, that actually hurt,_" Darkness happily muttered to herself as she collapsed.

"Truly remarkable, you just took judgement head-on, an exceedingly powerful move, and yet you are still standing, I would expect nothing less from the "shield hero,"" The pope sarcastically complimented as he emerged from the cloud of dust, with an army of followers behind him.

"Oh look, the pope is here," Kazuma noted.

"That's the shithead that called me a devil in the first place, can I blow him up?" Megumin asked as she started to gather the mana around herself.

"No explosions while pregnant, remember," Kazuma said as he glared at her.

"Just a teeny-tiny explosion, please?" Megumin begged as she gave Kazuma the biggest puppy eyes she could manage.

"No!" He answered resolutely, forcing her to back down.

"Yes, very good, you realize it is hopeless to stand against the will of GOD! Now accept the judgement that stands before you for all the sins you have committed!" The pope exclaimed at the sight of Megumin backing down, totally missing the point of their conversation.

"My sins?!" Naofumi yelled back, taken aback at the incredulous claim.

"Yes, your sins, You deceive the people you encounter leading them to stray from the way of God, which again forces them to turn against their own country, for such transgressions you must be punished severely, NOW PREPARE YOURSELF TO BE PURIFIED BY ME, IN THE NAME OF GOD!" Pope Balmus declared with his arms outstretched.

"What is going on here!?" Motoyasu yelled out in confusion.

"That attack you just used could have very killed both me, the princesses and the Spear hero, you do realize we can't lose more heroes after Ren's death," Itsuki loudly complained from his bound position.

"The princesses of this country, as well as the Spear heroes party, and the Bow heroes party, were brutally murdered by the devil of the shield, at least that is the story the world will be told!" Pope Balmus quickly explained to Itsuki, as his face turned pale at the realization. However, Motoyasu didn't figure out the situation just yet.

"As far as God is concerned, you are all already dead," He continued.

"Hey can someone explain what the hell is going on right now!?" Motoyasu repeated, a bit more anxious this time, but everyone ignored him.

"And if the lives of those who has been marked for death, do finally come to an end, then that means all is right with the world, because God's will has then been realized," He kept fucking monologuing.

(What word am I looking for what this guy is again, hmm) Kazuma thought to himself.

"This man is completely insane!" Raphtalia suddenly spoked up.

(No, not exactly insane, there is another word I am looking for) Kazuma kept pondering.

"Yeah, that logic is pretty twisted… remind me of someone," Melty commented as she looked at her bald unconscious sister.

(Ugh, what was it again, it started with F, ok let me try going down the memory tree, Aqua is the founder of the axis cult, and those guys are **fan**s) "FANATICAL!" Kazuma suddenly exclaimed, "These guys are fanatical, oh sorry, just couldn't remember the word, ignore me," He excused himself as he backed off.

"Royalty is a pestilence, and the same applies to you so-called heroes, in our sacred texts we worship those that save the world and its people from the waves, but this bunch has done more harm than good,"

"THAT ISN'T TRUE!" Motoyasu and Itsuki protested in unison.

"Oh, well then let me mention some of the instances on how you have all harmed this country, for example, The spear hero released a sealed monster upon the world,"

"_True_," Naofumi muttered to himself.

"The sword hero caused an epidemic due to his negligence,"

"_Also true,_"

"And the bow hero ignored his duties, choosing instead to serve himself,"

"_Pretty accurate so far,_"

"Heroes that bring such devastation upon the country and its citizens, while damaging their beliefs, can only be considered nothing else but impostors!" The pope ranted on.

"I only did that because-"

"_You know, it's in these scenarios I would like a skip option for conversations,_" Kazuma whispered to his son, causing Naofumi to nod in agreement.

"Your actions, arrogance and foolishness speaks volumes, just as the sword hero and his party did, when they chose to investigate matters far beyond their station, therefore they forced God's judgement to fall upon them!" The pope said, catching even the attention of father and son, at what was practically a confession to Ren's murder.

"_Do you think even the airhead is going to understand the situation now?_" Kazuma questioned.

"_I wouldn't bet on it,_" Naofumi answered.

"Wait, does that mean it wasn't Naofumi?!" Motoyasu said in shock at the realization, as everyone stared at him with equally shocked expressions. Some because they couldn't believe how stupid he was, only to figure this out now, while others with less faith in his cognitive capabilities, were shocked by him managing to figure it out.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, this farce has been entertaining but that's enough," Balmus laughed at the realization of how incredibly stupid the spear hero actually was.

Before he then stretched out his right hand to receive a gold sword, from one of his followers.

"The false heroes, the devil of the shield and the devil of obliteration, that cling so desperately to life as if they were cockroaches, shall now be purified with holy judgement, and this country, SHALL FINALLY BE GIVEN RIGHTEOUS ORDER!" Balmus declared as he raised the sword above his head, as it started to glow.

"Watch out, that sword is bad news!" Melty yelled, as Naofumi stepped forth to block the incoming attack.

"{Sacred Lightning Blare}" Iris chanted as she conjured forth a beam of golden light that clashed with the pope's attack, dissipating both.

"Damn, I forgot that my level was lowered, that took more out of me than I had expected," Iris complained as she shook her now tingling hand.

"So it would seem you devils have a few tricks of your own, but it doesn't matter, I look forward to now exact God's vengeance," Balmus said as his sword transformed into a spear.

"Wait a second, did he just turn his sword into a spear!?" Motoyasu exclaimed totally miffed by the event.

"There is only one possibility, that is the replica of the cardinal weapons," Melty explained.

"Do you know how it works?" Kazuma queried.

"Well, a long time ago-"

"I asked how it works, not for a history lesson, and please keep it short," Kazuma interrupted, before Melty could start with any exposition.

"Very well, the replica can transform into any of the four holy weapons, but it does require a tremendous amount of mana to operate, so those attacks just now must have drained a few dozen of his mages for any mana," Melty explained, with an irritated expression.

"That's perfect, we will just let them charge it up then," Kazuma happily declared.

"WHAT!" Everyone exclaimed in shocked unison at his seemingly suicidal idea.

"It's the only thing that is logical, since we don't have anyone with enough spare mana to power it, so we will just let them charge it for us, and then-" Kazuma explained as he did a grabbing motion with his hand, all of his allies dawning a look of understanding.

"Are you crazy? If we let him charge that thing again we are done for, let us free so we can fight him, you don't stand a chance against him just by yourself!" Itsuki yelled at them, but now everyone just sat down and talked casually with each other.

"HAVE YOU GUYS GONE MAD!?" Motoyasu yelled at them, as his two still conscious party members fainted from stress.

"Oh, shut up, we are going to be just fine, just sit back and relax," Megumin retorted as she brought up some snacks, while Raphtalia stretched out a picnic cloth for everyone to sit on.

"BAHAHAHA, They have grown delusional since they can't face the fact that they are about to die, very well then God will now purify you," He exclaimed as Kazuma got into position.

"{STE-}"

"{HUNDRED SWORDS}!" A voice roared as multiple blue swords suddenly appeared and crashed into the pope's magical barrier, making it fall apart and forcing the pope on his knees.

"Your holiness!" His right hand man said in worry as he checked if Balmus was ok.

"It's not possible, he should be dead! Quick bishop, order half of the mages to focus on keeping the barrier alive, to hold off their attacks," The pope quickly ordered.

"At once your holiness," He quickly complied

"REN!" Itsuki and Motoyasu cheered at the sight of Ren standing at the other edge of the crater, before he quickly slid down the hill and cut through the bindings keeping the two other idiots from ruining Kazuma's plans.

"How are you alive, we thought the three heroes church killed you?" Itsuki questioned.

"Me and my party were almost killed, but we were saved by a group calling themselves shadows, that are loyal to the queen, which reminds me, THE QUEEN AND HER ARMY IS ON THEIR WAY, SURRENDER NOW OR BE DECLARED TRAITORS TO THE CROWN!" Ren commanded, causing mild panic to erupt among the mages.

"Do not lose your faith. This is a battle between God and the devil, you knew it would be difficult from the beginning, but do not despair for no matter the cost our victory is inevitable. We won't lose because God has given his blessings to all of us, we have no reason to fear the forces the queen is bringing against us, and it matters not how many false heroes gather, none can defeat us as long as we hold firmly to this weapon and our fate in God!" Pope Balmus spoke with such conviction that all his followers regained their morale, and delusional fate in him.

"{Hundred swords!}" "{Meteor shot!}" "{Meteor thrust!}" The three of them chanted simultaneously, and this time, even with all their attacks combined, they didn't even make as much as a crack in the reinforced magical barrier.

"Ugh, they are ruining my plans, and I am out of hairballs, Iris come here," Kazuma waved her over. "_Be a dear and knock them out for me, a quick chop to the neck should do the trick,_" He whispered into her ear, causing her to grin.

"Ok," Iris retorted, as she in the next second stood next to a knocked out Itsuki and Motoyasu, Ren noticing what she did turned on his heel as he tried to back away from her.

"Have you gone mad, we need to work togeth-" Ren was interrupted as Iris parried his sword with her own and delivered a chop to his neck that promptly knocked him out.

"Dear me, I can hardly bear to watch this, you are fighting amongst yourselves in the face of death, nothing could better exemplify that purifying you immediately is all but too appropriate, fortunately your little squabble has given us time to generate enough mana, farewell false heroes and devils alike," Balmus declared as he charged up another attack.

"Ok, let me just grab that real quick, {Farsight}{Steal}!" Kazuma chanted as he stretched out his hand and pointed it towards pope Balmus, a blue flash emitted from his hand and when it dissipated he held the golden spear in his hand.

"BRIONAC!" The pope chanted as he hilariously thrust his arms forward, before he looked at his empty hands in bewilderment.

"Are you looking for this?!" Kazuma mocked as he waved the fully charged spear around.

"Impossible, it must be a trick!" Pope Balmus roared as his hands remained empty.

"Now Melty, you said this replica could turn into any of the four holy weapons, right?" Kazuma said as an evil grin emerged on his face.

"Yes, that's right," Melty responded.

"Now, wouldn't it be hilarious for me to use this weapon in its shield form, to take out the entire organization that wanted to kill both you and your family with the one thing they despise?" Kazuma said as the spear transformed into a shield.

"There might be some poetic justice in that, that some would find entertaining," Melty responded, as Kazuma got face to face with Naofumi.

"Do you want to take them down together with your old man?" Kazuma proposed as he presented his son with a knitted fist, with the shield replica strapped to the arm of zed fist.

"You don't even need to ask about that," Naofumi responded as he met his father's fist with his own.

"Hey don't leave me out, I also want to be a part of the final attack, I will only add a little mana to the attack," Megumin shot-in as she placed one of her hands on each of their connected fists.

"Ok dear, but only a little bit," Kazuma prespecified, earning an affirming nod from her.

(Wait, the devil of obliteration was seen kissing with someone mistaken for the shield hero, and both devils showcased extreme disgust when someone brought it up, and nicknames like, old man and dear, can only mean that) "YOU ARE THAT DAMNED DEVIL'S PARENTS!" Pope Balmus suddenly realized as he declared it for everyone that was still conscious to hear.

"INDEED WE ARE, AND NOW YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR THE MISTREATMENT OF OUR SON!" Kazuma and Megumin yelled out in perfect unison, as they both looked back at Naofumi before they all three came to a silent agreement, about what they should say as they let the giant blast loose.

"{EXPLOOOSIOOON!}" They roared as one entity, making a giant green, red and mostly yellow-tinted blast shoot out, quickly obliterating the barrier protecting Pope Balmus and his followers. First, it pierced through his chest and out his back, were it scattered into a wider angle, turning everyone standing behind him into ash in an instant. But even though Balmus had a giant hole in his chest, he was still standing.

He wasn't able to utter a single word, since his lungs had been burned away. The only thing he was able to do as he fell to his knees, still conscious, was to feel. He felt his singed flesh brush painfully against the wind blowing through his wound. He felt the tremendous anger at seeing the smug faces of that damned Devil's family. However they all paled in comparison to the increasing dread at the knowledge that he only had minutes left to live, and that all his plans of grandeur would die with him here today.

**I think that is a great place to end this very long chapter. Ok, quick news, I have exams coming up very soon, so I won't start writing again, before probably after Christmas. On another note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as it took tremendous amount of effort and time to get right. Reviews are always appreciated, especially if it's something constructive. If you don't hear from me before next year, Happy Christmas and/or Happy new year.**

**Please let it be a good year this time.**


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